July 15, 2020 — Gwinnett Daily Post

gwinnettdailypost.com ♦ wednesday, July 15, 2020 ♦ A3

MARKER From A1 (including) one, Charles Hale, who lost his life at this very corner in 1911.”

The Historical Restoration and Preservation Board is planning to call a special meeting to vote on sending to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners a recommendation to move the memorial. State law protects Confederate monuments from being destroyed, but officials can pursue efforts to move it.

Ragans said the date and time of the meeting is expected to be announced this week, and that it will be held online to allow for safe public participation during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic.

Officially, the board as a whole, has not taken a stance on the issue yet.

“We cannot speak on behalf of the Historical Restoration and Preservation Board, but we can speak as members of the board, so we stand in support,” Taylor-Crawford said.

“So we want you to know we will fight with you until the very end.”

Sunday’s protest rally highlighted the broadest range of groups and individuals who support removal the memorial, which was erected in 1993 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Supporters of its removal wrapped a “Black Lives Matter” flag around it during the rally.

Johnson, who is a co-founder of the Alliance for Black Lives and a co-organizer of Sunday’s rally, said the event proved to be an opportunity to educate people about the history of the county, and particularly the Lawrenceville Square.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand there were actually lynchings in this exact area,” she said. “This monument that was put up in 1993 — the name of the monument is ‘Lest We Forget’ — it’s just such an offense to the movement we’re in today.”

Bipartisan support for removing the memorial

appear on the ballot in the November election are calling for the memorial’s removal.

Porter is believed to be the first Republican elected official in Gwinnett to publicly call for the monument’s removal.

“This needs to be removed because it implies agreement, it implies consent, by the county government, by the powers that be and I don’t think that’s right,” he said. “I believe it should be in the context of history, warts and all.

It should not be destroyed or defaced, but moved and I’m here to support that.”

Austin-Gatson said the push to have the memorial removed from the historic courthouse’s grounds is part of an ongoing fight against systemic racism.

“It’s time for this to stop, it’s enough,” she said. “These kind of statues have to come down because we don’t need to glorify a racist past. What we need to do is move forward, got forward and do what needs to be done.”

They join Solicitor General Brian Whiteside, who is seeking a remedy from the Gwinnett County Superior Court to have the monument declared a public nuisance and order its removal. Whiteside has a court complaint, which states the monument has become a target for vandals, pending before Judge Tracy Mason.

Carden and former 7th Congressional District candidate Nabilah Islam helped give steam to the push to remove the memorial when they began a Change.org petition last month calling on commissioners to move the memorial, possibly to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford. Carden said he plans to present the petition to the county commission at its July 28 meeting.

“It’s time for Gwinnett County to bury the myth of a lost cause once and for all and relocate this monument to a more appropriate location,” Carden said.

Legacy of a lynching looms over the Lawrenceville Square

During Sunday’s protest, a One of the most interesting heavy emphasis was put on twists is that both candidates remembering the lynching of for district attorney who will Charles Hale on the corner of

CASES From A1 “If they do develop symptoms within that timeframe, they certainly should seek out a test. Typically what we see in the incubation period is roughly within five to six days in quarantine, someone might develop symptoms around that time. If you do develop symptoms, certainly seek out a test.”

Health officials are not necessarily saying people who don’t develop symptoms should not get tested, however. Wasdin did have advice for when asymptomatic people should get tested as well.

“If you don’t develop symptoms, then the best time to get tested within a quarantine period is Day 10,” he said. “Of course it’s unnerving. We know people want to know their status, especially if they’ve been exposed to someone, and of course it’s important to remember that exposure is being within six feet of someone who is positive for 15 minutes.”

Gwinnett has seen significant increases in new cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks.

In the span of one week, from July 7 to Tuesday, Gwinnett’s COVID-19 case total rose by 1,910 new cases. By comparison, the total rose by 1,890 cases in the week between June 30 and July 7.

In the last week, Gwinnett’s case total crossed two thresholds, first crossing the 10,000 cases mark last Wednesday and then crossing the 11,000 cases threshold on Saturday.

The Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale Health District announced Tuesday that Gwinnett has seen a positivity rate of 12.4% during the pandemic.

There had been a total of 93,318

tests performed in Gwinnett as noon Monday, when the county health department compiled its COVID-19 numbers for the weekly snapshot report released on Tuesday.

The median age of people who have tested positive for the disease is 38. The two age groups with the highest number of positive cases is 35 to 49, followed by 25 to 34, according to county health department data. The 50 to 64 age group has had the third highest number of cases, followed by the 18 to 24 age group.

“In Gwinnett County there has been a 18.6% increase in newly confirmed COVID-19 Cases between the week of 6/29/2020 – 7/6/2020 (9,666 cases) and 7/7/20 – 7/13/20 (11,461 cases),” health officials said in their COVID-19 report on Tuesday.

The local health department reported people who were known to have underlying health conditions accounted for just 2,205 cases seen in the county while it was unknown whether people in 7,501 of another cases had underlying conditions.

The number of people dying in Gwinnett from the disease took a sharp upward turn in the last week, however. There have been 13 new deaths reported in Gwinnett in the week since July 7. In the week before that, the death toll rose by just four new deaths.

The median age of people dying from COVID-19 in Gwinnett is 79, according to Gwinnett, New and Rockdale Health Department officials.

Statewide, there has been a total of 123,963 cases, 3,054 deaths, 13,685 hospitalizations and 2,662 ICU admissions since March.

And, while Gwinnett continues to have the highest case total of all counties in the state,

Pike and Perry Streets on the Lawrenceville Square in 1911.

During a part of the gathering where participants were asked to shout the names of African-Americans who have been killed recently — including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks — Hale’s name was added to the list as well.

A printout of a photo of Hale’s lynching, which is in the holdings of the Georgia Archives, was shown at the rally Sunday.

Blair, who became the first African-American elected to the Gwinnett County Board of Education in 2018, said students in the county’s school district should be taught about what happened to Hale and other victims of lynchings as part of a more inclusive curriculum that teaches the history of all ethnicities.

“I did not know who Charles Hale was when I grew up in Gwinnett County Public Schools,” Blair said. “That is a problem. The history that we all have been taught is a whitewashed and revisionist one.”

There is a push emerging to have a memorial to Hale and other victims of lynchings in Gwinnett erected in the county. Steve Babb with the Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition said there are at least three documented cases of African-Americans being lynched in the county. Hale’s death is the most recent, but two others occurred in the 1880s.

“We’re basically trying to remember the victims of lynchings here in Gwinnett,” Babb said of his group’s work.

That history of lynchings, and the fact that the Confederate memorial was erected a few yards away from where Hale was lynched, is one of the reasons why several participants in Sunday’s rally said the monument should be removed.

“The county commission failed us (in 1993),” Ragans said. “This monument went up on this street corner, where historic lynchings occurred, as a reminder — a reminder that African-Americans need to ‘remember their place’ in the hierarchy, thus emboldening those who see this as a rallying cry to the lost cause of the Confederacy.”

File photo

Lilburn City Hall is closed until July 27 after an employee tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Lilburn City Hall closed after employee catches COVID-19

By Curt Yeomans curt.yeomans@ gwinnettdailypost.com

Lilburn City Hall is closed until later this month after a city employee recently tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, a spokeswoman has confirmed.

City spokeswoman Rozalyn Schmitt said the employee, as well as other employees that person had direct contact with, are under quarantine

for 14 days. As a result, Lilburn City Hall will be closed to the public until July 27.

“Services including permitting, inspections, and business licensing remain available,” Schmitt said. “Contact information for business services is available on the city’s website at cityoflilburn.com.”

It is not immediately known how the situation affects the Lilburn library branch, which shares a building with City Hall.

This is the second government office in Gwinnett to recently close its doors until July 27 after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. The Gwinnett Clerk of Courts office notified court system officials over the weekend that an employee had tested positive for the disease and that the clerk’s main office at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center would have to be closed for two weeks as a result.

Deadline for CARES Act small business loans, grants is July 24

By Curt Yeomans curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com

Small businesses have until the end of next week to apply for federally-funded loans and grants available from Gwinnett County to help with COVID-19 novel coronavirus relief.

The county announced the deadline for the CARES Act grant and loans will be July 24. The Gwinnett County Small Business Assistance Program is handling $20 million in federal funding, which will be split evenly between grants and loans.

The funding is designed to cover COVID19-related expenses including deep cleanings of facilities, modifications intended to allow for social distancing, marketing, restocking and paying staff before reopenings.

Fulton County is seeing major increases. A few weeks ago, Gwinnett had seen a total of more than 1,000 more cases than Fulton after surging past its neighbor last month.

As of Tuesday, the gap had narrowed to 528 cases.

Fulton County has seen a bigger surge in cases than Gwinnett has seen since just before the Fourth of July, with 2,288 new cases since July 7 alone. It has had a total of 11,354 cases, 327 deaths and 1,280 hospitalizations as of Tuesday.

DeKalb has had the third highest total of all Georgia counties (8,784 cases, 183 deaths), followed by Cobb County (7,388 cases, 256 deaths) and Hall County (3,928 cases, 65 deaths).

The Gwinnett Community Development Program will handle the grants, which are capped at $75,000, while Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. will handle the 36-month loans, which can range from $50,000 to $200,000 with a waiver on the first nine months of principal and interest payments.

The grants are available for Gwinnettbased businesses that have been operating for at least one year and have up to 200 employees.

Meanwhile, the loans are available for businesses that have been in operation for more than two years and have up to 500 employees.

Application information for the grants and loans is available at GwinnettCounty.com.

CITY OF NORCROSS NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC GEORGIA FY20-21 FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 BUDGET REVIEW AND ADOPTION Public Hearing on FY2020-2021 Budget The public is hereby notified that a public hearing is scheduled for the FY20-21 Proposed Budget on July 20, 2020 and August 3,2020 at 6:30 p.m. in accordance with the provision of the state code of Georgia 36-81-5 (d and e) via Zoom https://zoom. us/j/98877350289 and in the City Hall Council Chamber located at 65 Lawrenceville Street, Norcross, Georgia 30071. At this meeting the Mayor and Council will receive both written and oral comments about the annual operating and capital budget for the City of Norcross, Georgia. A qualified interpreter for the hearing impaired will be available upon request made at least seven (7) days in advance of this meeting.

Please call (770) 448-2122 ask for Karen Slaton-Dixon Administrative Services Director to request an interpreter or for more information.

Budget Available for Review The FY20-21 recommended budget will be available for public inspection on the cities website beginning July 13th at http://www.norcrossga.net/ and a hard copy will not be due to the current pandemic.

Budget Adoption The Mayor and Council of the City of Norcross are scheduled to adopt the FY20-21 Budget at the regular scheduled August 3, 2020 Council meeting. The meeting will be held via Zoom and in the City Hall Council Chamber located at 65 Lawrenceville Street, Norcross, Georgia.

CITY OF NORCROSS FIVE YEAR TAX LEVY AND M&O HISTORY

NOTICE The City of Norcross does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at via Zoom https://zoom.

The City of Norcross on does hereby 03, announce the millage rate will be settoatthe a meeting to be us/j/98877350289 August 2020 that at 6:30pm and pursuant requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 does hereby publish heldfollowing at the 65 Lawrenceville Norcross, on August 03, 2020and at 6:30pm and pursuant to the requirements the presentationStreet of the currentGAyear’s tax digest levy, along with the history of the of taxO.C.G.A. digest Section and levy for the past five 48-5-32 does hereby the hearing following presentation the current year's tax digest and levy, along@ with the history of the tax years.

There will bepublish a public on July 20,of2020 @ 6:30pm and August 3, 2020 11am. digest and levy for the past five years. There will be a public hearing on July 20, 2020 @ 6:30pm and August 3, 2020 @ 11am.

CURRENT 2020 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY INCORPORATED Real & Personal

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

734,248,930

810,549,200

849,452,910

915,927,101

1,019,440,469

Motor Vehicles

13,918,390

9,929,980

7,496,520

6,138,140

5,063,720

Mobile Homes

3,240

3,240

3,000

2,880

2,880

40,580,160

42,530,680

46,306,440

46,699,800

46,699,800

Utility Timber - 100% Heavy Duty Equipment Gross Digest

28,000

31,650

5,153

29,960

109,700

788,778,720

863,044,750

903,264,023

968,797,881

1,071,316,569

Less M& O Exemptions

27,930,680

27,259,723

57,279,180

72,171,960

48,752,314

Net M & O Digest State Forest Land Assistance Grant Value

760,848,040

835,785,027

845,984,843

896,625,921

1,022,564,255

Adjusted Net M&O Digest

760,848,040

835,785,027

845,984,843

896,625,921

1,022,564,255

5.749

5.749

5.749

6.749

6.749

Net M&O Millage

5.749

5.749

5.749

6.749

6.749

Net Taxes Levied

Gross M&O Millage Less Rollbacks

$4,374,115.38

$4,804,928.12

$4,863,566.86

$6,051,328.34

$6,901,286.16

$ Increase (Decrease)

783,271.70

430,812.74

58,638.74

1,187,761.48

849,957.82

% Increase/Decrease

21.81%

9.85%

1.22%

24.42%

14.05%

A4 ♦ Wednesday, July 15, 2020 ♦ gWinnettdailypost.com COLUMNIST I KEITH ROACH

WEATHER WATCH

Weight loss is best for fatty liver

TODAY

93 73

D

EAR DR. ROACH: I have been suffering from fatty liver for the past 10 years. Is there any medication to reverse it?

— A.A. ANSWER: Fatty liver is a very common finding that refers to the accumulation of excess fat in the liver cells. The most common cause, in people who do not drink excess alcohol, is being overweight, which eventuRoach ally leads to insulin resistance and many other metabolic abnormalities. This includes changes in the cholesterol levels and elevations in blood pressure.

Although you asked about medication treatment, the primary treatment for people who are overweight with fatty liver is losing weight. Ideally, this is accomplished through healthy dietary changes and increased exercise; however, bariatric surgery is worth considering in people who continue to have fatty liver despite their best efforts on diet and exercise.

Fatty liver should not be taken lightly. It may progress to inflammation of the liver (steatohepatitis, from “steat-”, meaning “fat” in Greek), fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis of the liver.

Drug therapy is more often used to help the underlying and accompanying conditions than it is for treatment of the fatty liver itself. Treatment of diabetes (if present), high blood pressure and high cholesterol are often of benefit in reducing not only liver disease risk, but also risk of heart attack and stroke.

Weight-loss medications are prescribed by some weight management experts.

For people who have fatty liver without diabetes, the use of vitamin E appears to be of modest benefit, although there are conflicting data. Vitamin E should not be used in people with diabetes for the treatment of fatty liver. Most experts will not use vitamin E in men with a personal history or strong family history of prostate cancer, since a large trial showed vitamin E increased the risk of prostate cancer about 17%.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your response to the guy with itching ears in a recent column.

I have that problem from wearing hearing aids. The itching is near the surface.

I asked a pharmacist what to use, and he recommended 1% hydrocortisone on a cotton swab. This solved my problem, and I have used it for years.

— D.C. ANSWER: I appreciate your writing. Hydrocortisone is an effective but nonspecific treatment for itching on the skin. In the case of hearing aids, it may be that your skin is having a slight reaction to the material of the hearing aid.

Many people get itching ears without hearing aids. In this case, occasionally treating the symptoms with hydrocortisone is reasonable.

If it doesn’t work, the ear canal needs an exam. Eczema is a common problem in the ear canal.

I am also cautious about using cotton swabs in the ears.

For applying medicine near the outside of the canal, a swab should be safe, but you should be very careful with any instrument inserted into the ear, as careless swabbing can perforate the eardrum.

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible.

Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med. cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

20%

20%

40%

30%

50%

50%

92 72

90 72

20%

90 72

the solunar tables for lakes are based on studies that show fish and game are more active at certain times during the lunar period.

MAJOR 9:22-11:22 a.m. ........ 9:45-11:45 p.m.

MINOR 2:31-3:31 a.m. ............ 4:19-5:19 p.m.

POLLEN COUNTS trees: low Weeds: low grass: low

LOTTERY

90 72

91 73

91 73

LAKE LEVELS

SOLUNAR TABLES the gwinnett daily post (upsp 921-980, issn 1086-0096) is published Wednesday, Friday and sunday by scni, 725 old norcross Road, lawrenceville, ga 30045. periodical postage paid at lawrenceville, ga 30044. postmasteR: send address changes to gwinnett daily post, p.o. Box 603, lawrenceville, ga 30046-0603.

HOROSCOPES

Lake Full Yesterday allatoona ............(840.0) .... 840.60 Blackshear ......... (237.0) .... 236.93 Blue Ridge........(1690.0) ...1686.21 Burton..............(1865.0) .. 1864.93 carters.............(1072.0) ...1072.66 chatuge ........... (1927.0) .. 1925.03 Harding .............. (521.0) .... 520.57 Hartwell .............(660.0) .... 660.48 Jackson..............(530.0) .... 528.64

Lake Full Yesterday lanier............... (1071.0) ...1071.32 nottely..............(1779.0) .. 1775.70 oconee ..............(435.0) .... 435.04 seminole...............(77.5) ....... 77.21 sinclair ...............(339.8) .... 338.26 thurmond ..........(330.0) .... 330.23 tugalo ................ (891.5) .... 889.26 Walter F. george.(188.0) .....189.47 West point..........(635.0) .... 635.63

TODAY IN HISTORY

Tuesday cash 3 midday: 4-3-2 cash 4 midday: 7-2-9-3 ga. 5 midday: 2-4-9-9-2

TODAY’S HISTORY: in 1799, French lieutenant pierre-Francois Bouchard found the Rosetta stone in Rosetta, egypt. in 1903, Ford motor co. took its first order, a model a automobile for a dentist in chicago, illinois. in 1971, president Richard nixon announced his intent to visit china in search of a “normalization of relations.” in 2002, “american taliban” John Walker lindh pleaded guilty to having fought as a soldier with the taliban in afghanistan. in 2006, the social media platform twitter was launched.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), painter; clement clarke moore (1779-1863), author/poet; st. Frances Xavier cabrini (1850-1917), founder of charitable religious order;

Monday cash 3 midday: 8-6-2 cash 3 evening: 6-4-6 cash 3 night: 9-6-2 cash 4 midday: 9-7-5-9 cash 4 evening: 6-4-8-0 cash 4 night: 5-4-3-6 ga. 5 midday: 3-8-6-9-4 ga. 5 evening: 8-9-0-5-9 Fantasy 5: 7-17-22-41-42 cash 4 life: 11-12-33-36-49, cash Ball: 4

clive cussler (1931-2020), author; Vivian malone Jones (1942-2005), civil rights activist; linda Ronstadt (1946- ), singersongwriter; arianna Huffington (1950- ), internet publisher; Jesse Ventura (1951- ), wrestler/former governor; Forest Whitaker (1961- ), actor; adam savage (1967- ), designer/tV personality; damian lillard (1990- ), basketball player.

TODAY’S FACT: the nintendo entertainment system debuted in Japan on this day in 1983.

TODAY’S SPORTS: in 2007, the philadelphia phillies baseball team became the first professional sports franchise to record its 10,000th loss.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “i went through two schools of acting, but i learned more about acting from meditating and from my martial arts teacher.” -- Forest Whitaker

READER’S GUIDE

Gwinnett Daily Post editor – todd cline main office – 770-963-9205

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com between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and between 8 a.m. and noon sunday. if your paper delivery is missed, we no longer redeliver on each delivery day. We only redeliver on sunday. all other delivery days that are missed, we will have this paper delivered with the next day paper delivery at the request of the customer.

Honored as a newspaper of General Excellence

2018

COLUMNIST AMYDICKINSON DICKINSON COLUMNIST | I AMY

D

Girlfriend wants to swing — alone

EAR AMY: I recently broke up with my girlfriend, but now she wants me back.

I saw her dozens of times in the wee hours of the morning tapping on her phone and then hiding the phone once she knew I was awake.

I didn’t do anything until someone in her inner circle came to me and said that I was “a fool to trust her, she has had a guy on the side the whole time, and that she wanted to break up with me but was afraid I would commit suicide.”

I did check myself voluntarily into a mental health unit for depression for a few days some time back.

I am crushed that she betrayed my trust (by discussing this with others).

She admitted she told others about my hospitalization but claimed the rest is simply not true and that her hiding of the phone was because of an “addiction to learning about the swinging lifestyle.”

She is very unabashed sexually, and is also much younger than I (no I’m not a “sugar daddy;” I’m not rich and I don’t give her money).

She claims that she has since deleted her online accounts that she uses to access the swingers’ clubs and online swingers blogs.

She texts me every day,

tells me she loves me, and says she wants me to trust her.

She said she would never cheat on me.

Dickinson We have continued to talk in person occasionally and I want to trust her, but I just have a gut feeling that I can’t.

Even if I dismissed what I heard as hearsay, I still saw her hide her phone, and she did betray my confidence regarding my stay in a mental health unit.

What should I do?

— My Gut Says No DEAR GUT: Trust is a choice, and sometimes choosing to trust involves a very deliberate quieting of those emergent self-protective voices, while remaining vigilant concerning the person who betrayed you.

However — in your case — I am strongly urging you to go with your gut. Your first responsibility is to your mental health. You deserve so much credit for getting professional help when you needed it the most.

You should very deliberately avoid any triggers that might affect your mental health at this point, and the uncertainty presented by this relationship would be at the top of the list. You

seem to instinctively know this, and that is why you are keeping your distance, now. Good for you.

Your girlfriend’s explanation of her own behavior does not make sense.

“Swinging” is supposed to be a partner activity. If she is truly into swinging, then why didn’t she invite you?

Her use of the word “addiction” to describe her own behavior means that she will likely have to reckon with it in a more responsible and deliberate way.

But how she handles this is not your problem, but hers.

Talk this through with a therapist, and continue to take good care of yourself.

DEAR AMY: My granddaughter graduated in June in one of the ‘drive-by’ graduations done in so many places, due to the current pandemic.

She sent out announcements of the occasion and will hopefully have a party in late July.

Many people responded to her announcement by sending cash, checks, and gift cards at that time, but she does not intend to send thank-you notes until after the party, which means that people won’t know until August if their gifts were received.

Some folks have asked me if the mailed items got to her and I’m not sure how

to respond. Do I give them her phone number, or what?

I pretty much have to tiptoe around that family, so don’t know what to do.

— Embarrassed Grandma DEAR EMBARRASSED: I understand your feeling of embarrassment, but I hope you will not take this on as something to feel ashamed about, or to fix. If friends of yours wonder if gifts were received, you can say, “She told me she is planning to send her thank-yous in August, but if you’d like, I can give you her email address, so you could follow-through.”

DEAR AMY: “Lonely Man” described his terrible marriage as a “jail sentence,” but said he was staying “for the sake of the kids.”

I wonder how many parents would advise their children to stay in a miserable relationship. I felt an incredible sense of relief when my parents got divorced.

— Survivor DEAR SURVIVOR: Kids see so much more than their parents seem to realize.

You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: ASKAMY@amydickinson. com. Readers may send postal mail to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.

You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or “like” her on Facebook.

make an effort to get things done correctly this year, and it will put you in a good position and bring you satisfaction. Being consistent and reliable will speak volumes about who you are and what you are capable of doing. pay it forward, and the returns will far exceed your expectations.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Be the one to make a difference. expand your interests, knowledge and insight, and you’ll realize what’s possible. trust your instincts and make things happen.

LEO (July 23-aug. 22) — if you don’t understand the extent of a job, work-related problems will surface. Be direct, initiate proper protocol and follow steps and examples explicitly. personal gain is within reach.

VIRGO (aug. 23-sept. 22) — don’t risk your health or position. Keep your objective firmly planted in your mind, and don’t stop until you reach your destination. an emotional shift will be required.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) — avoid joint ventures or risky investments. too much of anything will work against you. live within your means and avoid indulgent individuals. love who you are and treat yourself well.

SCORPIO (oct. 24-nov.

22) — call on your emotions for an honest appraisal of a situation. a change at home may be possible, and with initiative and imagination, you’ll be surprised by the results.

SAGITTARIUS (nov. 23dec. 21) — Refuse to let anything you encounter add to your stress. Keep meddlers at a safe distance. put your efforts into physical and emotional improvement. personal growth will lead to greater self-appreciation.

CAPRICORN (dec. 22Jan. 19) — change your image, take a different path or fine-tune your plans to eliminate an error. Be the mastermind of your efforts, and be original, passionate and truthful. you will excel.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Fix what you have instead of opting for a replacement. use your hands to put your ideas in motion and reward yourself for your self-control and discipline.

PISCES (Feb. 20-march 20) — think about your concerns and do some research. the information you receive will help you care for yourself and look after your interests more efficiently. don’t let love cost you financially or emotionally.

ARIES (march 21-april 19) — Keep tabs on your expenses. too much of anything will result in loss and regret. if something needs an adjustment, do it yourself.

Be responsible and reap the rewards.

TAURUS (april 20-may 20) — a demonstration of emotions will impact the way others view you. strive to make your point passionately without being dramatic or overbearing, and you’ll get good results.

GEMINI (may 21-June 20) — sit back, relax and refuse to make a hasty decision. time is on your side, and you’ll gain far more if you meditate or strive for personal growth.

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gwinnettdailypost.com ♦ wednesday, July 15, 2020 ♦ A5

PERSPECTIVES

Gwinnett Daily Post www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Todd Cline,

Editor and SCNI Vice President of Content todd.cline@gwinnettdailypost.com

COLUMNIST|DAVID CARROLL

I

Tales from the toy department

n my continuing quest to write about urination after a fluid was poured into her something that doesn’t include the open mouth. It was a charming lesson of word “pandemic,” I’d like to explore “whatever goes in, must come out.” I rehow kids are spending their time during member my first real-life diaper changthis...uh...event. ing experience, after somehow avoiding Their heads are buried in smart watch- the ordeal for my son’s first six months es, virtual reality headsets, and game sys- of life. I had never trained on a doll, but tems. They are tapping and texting if I had, it should have been “Exon their iPhones, iPods, iPads and plody Cody.” iDon’t Know What Else.

I’m sure many medical profesIt makes you wonder. What DID sionals got their start by playing we play with before Apple, Amazon Operation. Certainly the Tinker and V-Tech ruled the world? How Toys, Lincoln Logs, Pick-Up Sticks, did we manage with only Mattel, SpiroGraph and Leg-Os inspired Milton Bradley, and Wham-O? countless engineers, builders, and You know, stuff we didn’t need to architects.

Carroll plug in, and recharge.

I’ll bet you anybody who does Every little girl’s dream was an automotive work glued together Easy Bake Oven. As a former little boy, I model cars, or played with Matchbox cars must confess I was intrigued as well. Af- and Hot Wheels. ter all, it made cookies. Many of today’s Those of us who grew up with black expert bakers started out with an Easy and white TVs were fascinated by our Bake Oven. I can’t imagine such a prod- View-Masters, with those round, rotatuct passing modern-day safety tests, but ing cards that showed us a world in colsomehow 8-year-olds of the 1960s fired or. I was already in love with Barbara that sucker up and lived to tell about it. Eden, but when I saw those blue eyes?

Boys like things that bounce. The high- Oh, Jeannie! er the bounce, the better the chance of We were all envious of any classmate reaching the sky. In the 1960s, Wham-O who owned Crayola’s deluxe box of 64 introduced the Superball, which bounced crayons, including a sharpener. Most of really high, and proved very lucrative for us had a box of 8 crayons, or maybe 16. the window replacement business.

But if you had that Crayola 64-box, you The Sunday comics section, in color, has were king of the neighborhood. Warnalways been a kiddie favorite. When the ing: If your parents bought you off-brand makers of Silly Putty told us their magi- crayons, you might as well have cooties. cal flesh-colored goo could copy the color One of my earliest childhood memoink, we rushed to the stores. It seemed ries is a trip to the Shop-Rite supermarlike magic to our little pre-internet brains. ket with my dad. I was about four. I spotSpeaking of magic, what could be more ted a kiddy car on the top shelf, just big magical than the Etch A Sketch? You use enough for me to sit behind the wheel. I two knobs to create art, shake it up to wanted it right then. Not for my birthday, erase, and then start all over. Or the Wooly and not for Christmas. I went directly into Willy, which allowed us to use a magnetic tantrum mode. Somehow, I survived this wand to move “hair” on the face and head episode. Even more incredibly, I was soon of clean-shaven Willy. While we’re talking steering it through our living room. makeovers, we could grab a potato from Thirty years later, I took my toddler to the kitchen, creating all sorts of identities Toys ‘R Us for the first time. Why is he for Mr. Potato Head. screaming like that, I wondered. Whose I wonder how many of today’s beauticians side of the family could that be from? I and designers were influenced by Barbie, never made that mistake again. I was too Ken and Skipper? Some of my girl friends busy making new ones. could not afford the fancy accessories, so It is fun to recall the simple items that they used their imaginations. The lid to kept us busy, like yoyos, slingshots, and a can of hairspray became an ottoman, a marbles. I could play for hours on a manual shoebox covered with a dishtowel trans- typewriter. Recently, a longtime teacher formed into a great bed, and the plastic brought one to school. All the 7th gradcups left over from the Lord’s Supper at ers looked it over. “How do you turn it church made a nice little flower vase. on?” they asked.

On the subject of dolls, who could forget Chatty Cathy? Pull her string, and she David Carroll, a Chattanooga news would tell you her life story. There was no anchor, is the author of Volunteer alcohol involved.

Bama Dawg, available on his website, For those who preferred real-life les- ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact sons, there was Betsy Wetsy. Scientifihim at radiotv2020@yahoo.com, or 900 cally speaking, Betsy Wetsy simulated Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405.

COLUMNIST|TOM PURCELL

Amid pandemic, take pen in hand

I

can’t recall the last time I wrote or birth. My grandfather died when my received a handwritten letter – but father was only 3. That letter is among it’s time to send such letters again. the most cherished items I have from a The reasons why the handwritten let- grandfather I never got to meet. ter died are obvious: e-mail, text mesNow, during the COVID-19 pandemsaging and cellphones. With how quick ic, the handwritten letter has begun a those innovations make whipping off a comeback. Miss Manners and others ennote, why would anybody take an hour courage writing to thank the many peoto hand-write one? ple battling the virus on the front lines.

But how much better off might They also suggest writing to we be if we started sending such elderly nursing-home residents letters again? and others who’ve been isolated I’ve kept every handwritten letand shut in for months – because ter I ever got, in boxes in my atsimple kindness and compassion tic. One Saturday in 2000, when can benefit both writer and reI was moving from Pittsburgh to cipient in these unusual times.

Washington, D.C., organizing and Could the handwritten letter storing stuff soured my mood. help us address deeper challengPurcell Until I stumbled upon a handes, too? Instead of posting striwritten letter I’d received in 1985. dent snark on social media, why It was from a fellow I’d gone to Penn not take time to think things through State with, who’d become an editor in and explain your viewpoint to a moveBangor, Maine. As I read it that Satur- ment leader, a mayor or anyone else day in 2000, it took me back 15 years – unaccustomed to receiving thoughtful, to exactly who I was at age 24. I laughed heartfelt letters? out loud reading it.

Writing by hand calms the thinking I also found a stack of pink envelopes process. It brings out our better angels. from two ladies, Bonnie and Tracey, who It helps convey clarity and bring underattended the same college as my friend standing to complex matters.

Griff. An anonymous letter he had them I’ll bet writing by hand would help letsend me during our freshman year in ters’ senders and recipients alike begin 1980 led to a robust correspondence, to realize they have more in common and I dated Bonnie for a spell after we than not – that our communities are graduated. Rereading those letters that not as divided as we may think. Most Saturday in 2000, I laughed so hard that simply have different ideas for achievtears tumbled down my face. ing the outcomes we all desire.

The handwritten letter is personal and We won’t know until we try. So, pick deeply satisfying in ways that electron- up a ballpoint pen and write some “thank ic communication will never be. Email, you” cards to people who’ve sacrificed for no matter how well crafted, simply isn’t all of us during the pandemic. Then write memorable. some memorable, uplifting letters to folks Consider a letter my grandfather hand- who’ve suffered in isolation for months. wrote on Nov. 28, 1928.

That’s a good start, anyhow.

With great eloquence, he consoled his best friend’s wife on the loss of her Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review mother. He wrote that letter when he humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at was 25 – nine years before my father’s Tom@TomPurcell.com.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: EmAil: letters@gwinnettdailypost.com mAil: 725 Old Norcross Road Lawrenceville, Georgia, 30046

COLUMNIST|CAL THOMAS

Fond memories of Sandwich and the British Open C haucer, the English poet and writer, is credited with originating the preachment that “all good things must come to an end.”

That is apropos with regard to traveling to the British Open in the summer, which I have been fortunate to do, dating back to 1978. How it all came about and was perpetuated had to do with friendships. While I hope that there will be a few more crossings to the championship, this summer is out, owing to the coronavirus.

In the late ’70s, I became friends with a Bulldog aficionado, Roy Mann of Rome, whose personal affection for golf consumed much of his time. He owned “Best Manufacturing Co.,” which produced a variety of work and garden gloves. Unable to embrace sobriety for about three years, he neglected to file tax returns and experienced troubles with the IRS. He was, however, always able to maneuver and function with regard to ongoing

business enterprise. He was a first-rate businessman.

He proposed a consulting arrangement whereby I would be paid a modest monthly fee to help him promote specialty golf balls, which his company had starting producing. He developed that interest mostly for fun. Anything related to golf gained his attention post haste. I countered with the suggestion that it was preferable that, instead of a monthly fee, that he pay my expenses to the British championship each year. He liked the idea.

This arrangement worked well for a brief period of years, and I was able to spend a couple of weeks each summer in Europe — one at the Open and the other on the continent, experiencing the invigorating sights, sounds and history of Europe.

Early on, I eagerly connected with the bed and breakfast tradition, which was very economical at the outset.

You could stay with a family, get to know them and enjoy

what is typically known as good and there were always a “cooked” breakfast as op- a couple of projects “waitposed to toast, juice ing in the wings”. The and coffee.

Knights in the late ’80s A cooked breakfast left an “old rectory” included eggs, sautéed which had become mushrooms, sausage, their home in Elmbacon, tomatoes, postone for a delighttatoes, juice and cofful five-story flat in fee. Every morning.

Ramsgate.

With the passing of The kitchen was on Smith time, the rates went the third floor with an up to where B&B accommo- expansive view of the harbor. dations were as costly as a Taking in that view every day hotel room. Economics took made your day. The artist, away living with the people. Vincent Van Goh once lived Those early B&B days are in Ramsgate. That view of treasured, the highlight com- the sea and the harbor must ing in 1981 when I met an have influenced his decision.

English couple, Jasper and I was awakened every mornMaureen Knight, who, along ing by squawking seagulls with their neighbors, hosted as they congregated on the a group of Americans at their rooftop to gossip and comhomes in Elmstone, which miserate, or whatever gull is six miles from Sandwich squawking is about. and the excellent golf course, Next, the Knights moved Royal St. Georges, where to Sandwich only a few doors the Open championship has from a delightful pub, “The been played a dozen times. Red Cow.” Where they lived Jasper was a self-made was an easy walk to Royarchitect/builder who could al St. George’s. Then they add on and redo with flat- bought an old 10-room hotering flair. Business was tel in Bridge, which is three

miles from Canterbury and 15 miles from Sandwich. They turned it into a two-family residence with them taking one side of the structure and their daughter, Sarah, and her husband Dom, settling in the other.

Wherever the Knights have lived, we have visited them over the years, renewing our friendship, and recalling the good times which included patronizing the most delightful country pub I have ever set foot in. The Griffin’s Head is located in nearby Chillenden. It dates back to 1286, a little less than 400 years before the American Revolution.

We have taken our friends to see the Knights, we have been to their home in the French Alps, which Jasper fashioned out of an old French residence and barn. They have spent time with us in Athens. Things, as Chaucer advised, have changed, mostly with Jasper an oak of a man who always appeared to be physically indestruc-

tible. With an engaging and curious mind, he now suffers from dementia and no longer lives at home. Heartbreaking.

Mo, like all senior citizens, has some maladies but is chipper when we talk on the phone and swap emails.

While she doesn’t live alone, she stays on her side of the house for precaution, but is reluctant to venture out to the pubs and restaurants, which has always been a staple of a fun life for her and her family.

I had planned to see them next week at the Open, which has been canceled for this year. It, however, will return to Sandwich next summer, assuming life regains normalcy. God willing, I plan to be there. Not just for the golf, but to see my old friends — hoping to counter Chaucer’s homily.

Loran Smith is co-host of “The Tailgate Show” and sideline announcer for University of Georgia football. He is also a freelance writer and columnist.

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PAGE A9 ♦ WEdnEsdAy, July 15, 2020

Longtime Parkview coach Buchanan retiring as Braves scout after a

Fun JOuRnEy

By Gillian Mcintyre Staff Correspondent

A 2,000-mile drive in one weekend to see one pitcher throw one inning was Hugh Buchanan’s reality as an Atlanta Braves scout.

“Scouting was good for me,” Buchanan said. “I’m not sure how good it was for the Braves, but it was good for me.”

Buchanan coached baseball at Parkview High School for 29 seasons. He had a 546-245 record, won 12 region championships and three state titles before joining the Braves organization. Parkview’s baseball field is now named in his honor, and Buchanan was inducted into the Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

After leaving Parkview, Buchanan found himself in a similar situation as the players he would soon evaluate. He, too, was still yearning for more baseball. Now, Buchanan will step away from the game altogether.

“I had a lot of friends in the scouting industry,” Buchanan said. “I didn’t have intentions of a second career, but it kind of just evolved into that.”

Buchanan took a part-time job with the Philadelphia Phillies until his Braves organization connections provided him with an opportunity.

He spent his time watching high school and college players who desired a chance at the professional league. Scouts, such as Buchanan, assess players’ abilities and talents and pass information on to an organization. He said he began working with about 18-25 other Braves scouts that covered the whole country. Buchanan’s scouting area included Tennessee, Alabama and part of Florida.

“It’s really pretty simple,” Buchanan said. “I got paid for my opinion,

really, and you hope your opinion is more right than it is wrong.”

Buchanan said scouts watch for five tools: hitting with power, running, arm strength, catching and good defense. He also had to form opinions on pitching aspects such as the ability to command strike zones to throwing at certain velocities. The process has changed over time, and analytics have opened up new avenues for evaluation to judge players’ ability to perform at the major league level.

He said organizations’ wants and needs vary. Some may look for pitchers that are a certain height or above, some may look for very athletic players and some may look for specific skills for a position.

“There are many different philosophies and it differs from organization to organization,” Buchanan said. “You have to know the people that you’re working for and exactly what they’re looking for.”

Buchanan also discussed evaluating intangible qualities such as mental toughness, intelligence and work ethic. Sometimes Buchanan would follow a certain player for two to three years. He described how the deeper scouts go into the process with a player, the more they pay attention to the intangibles in addition to physical skills.

“Once you know a guy has a skillset, then it’s about seeing the guy when he has his bad days and how he responds,” Buchanan said. ”Some people hit that bump in the road and it destroys them. Some become stronger.”

Although Buchanan’s role entailed intriguing aspects, he said his favorite part was simply being at the ballpark.

Buchanan said that outsiders can perceive that scouts are only competitive with one another. In reality, he values the relationships that developed and the networks

that he built with other scouts and players.

“You develop your own family within the scouting industry and you look out for each other,” Buchanan said. “You’re not helping each other scout, you’re just helping each other live, you know?”

Buchanan now will retire from a position that showed him a different side to baseball, a new way of looking at the sport and how to build a professional team.

“It surprised me how much I really had to learn about this game,” Buchanan said.

He aimed to work through the 2020 season before his retirement, but impacts of COVID-19 led him to move up his departure.

After traveling to watch countless players at ballparks, Buchanan said he’s looking forward to having time to just watch the birds and squirrels from his porch.

“Baseball is just one part of life,” Buchanan said. “Now, I’m going to get on out there and start doing other things.”

Longtime Parkview baseball coach Hugh Buchanan, at his Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame induction, has retired from his work as an Atlanta Braves scout.

IN BRIEF Edwards commits to Glenville state Former Grayson guard Nick Edwards committed Saturday to the Glenville State College (W.Va.) men’s basketball program.

The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 15.4 points, 5.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds last season as a sophomore at Palm Beach State College (Fla.).

Taylor named AuM Player of the decade Archer grad Darrion Taylor was named as one of five players on the Auburn University at Montgomery men’s basketball program’s all-decade team. He also was selected as AUM’s Player of The Decade.

The point guard, who played from 201620, became the 19th member of the school’s 1,000-point club and finished his illustrious career with 1,310 points, which ranks sixth in AUM history.

Taylor also made 248 3-pointers in his career, and ranks ninth in school history with 131 career steals.

— From staff reports

Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame

Ashton, darracott face uncertainty after stanford decision

By Will Hammock will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com

Around 2,500 miles away from campus, Buford grads Logan Ashton and Charlie Darracott found out via a Zoom meeting their Stanford University wrestling program would be axed, a financial casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former high school state champions were gutted by the news, and they said their feelings haven’t diminished since they found out last week.

“I don’t think it’s really changed (since we found out),” said Ashton, who just finished his freshman season at Stanford. “It’s still kind of shocking, still kind of disbelief. We both didn’t think this would happen at a school like Stanford. … We’re both trying to take it day by day now. We’re trying to figure out what the best path is for us going forward and trying to get the program reinstated.”

Fighting the decision is their immediate goal.

“Save Stanford wrestling,” said Darracott, an incoming freshman at the university.

The wrestling community and Stanford alumni also have rallied behind the cause. A Change.org petition to reinstate Stanford wrestling gained momentum over the weekend and topped the 11,000-signature mark as of Sunday afternoon.

“Our head coach has been proactive with the season, doing a very good job for us,” Darracott said. “It only made me appreciate the coaches and my guys on the team even more. I think it’s going to make us grow closer together because we’re all in this together.”

Stanford announced last week it planned to cut 11 varsity sports programs — wrestling was joined by men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, light-

Charlie Darracott

Logan Ashton

weight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming and men’s volleyball.

The school said it looked into a wide variety of alternatives to make up for the money lost from the pandemic, including ticket sales, broadcast revenue, university funding, philanthropic support, operating budget reductions and others, but found they were “insufficient to meet the magnitude of the financial challenge before us.”

The program will be allowed to compete for 2020-21 season, assuming the coronavirus permits it. It could be a farewell season unless some major intervention or financial push alters Stanford’s plans.

“In the letter, the athletic department wrote that basically no amount of money is going to change our mind,” Ashton said. “I think we’re going to raise a lot of money. I guess we’ll see what their number is. Obviously, we’re hopeful we can raise a lot of money.”

Ashton and Darracott have continued to focus on the upcoming college season amid coronavirus restrictions.

Individual workouts and small-group sessions were the norm shortly after the pandemic stopped athletics, then more normal training resumed — though Ashton said he missed his

on-campus training.

Both plan a return to Stanford for the 2020-21 season despite the uncertainty for the program. Stanford will honor scholarships to remain at the school, and that it will help athletes with transfers to other colleges.

The situation, if Stanford’s plan follows through, leaves the wrestlers with a choice. Pursue the dream of Division I wrestling elsewhere, or remain at Stanford on what will become a club team instead of a varsity sport.

“I chose to wrestle D-I, so wrestling’s very important to me,” Ashton said. “I still have high goals. I still want to be an All-American and be a national champ.

But I also chose Stanford to get a degree from one of the best universities in the country. There’s no pro wrestling, so a degree is very important. But I’ve trained my whole life since I was 8 to get to this point, and I still have goals I want to accomplish.”

Ashton it would take a high-academic school with wrestling to leave Stanford.

Several Ivy League schools fit that bill.

Darracott concurred with Ashton on the difficulty of the decision. His top three schools before he signed with Stanford also included North Carolina and Virginia, so those may be options in the future.

“It’s a tough predicament, one of the toughest things,” Darracott said. “Not only do I love Stanford, I love wrestling with all my heart. It’s truly a passion, a platform to express other passions. I love the school, too. I love the environment, the people thrive off each other. … I’ve been wanting to go to Stanford even before I was getting recruited. It’s always been my dream school. Once I stepped on campus, I know it’s cliché, but I knew it was where I was supposed to be, the people, the community. When this situation happened, I felt like I was reaching for something that was not there.”

Darracott hopes to have at least one season at Stanford if COVID-19 can be contained. It would be a debut season of sorts for Ashton, too. He wrestled only 13 matches as a true freshman and took a redshirt season.

The two wrestlers expect to be in Palo Alto for the fall quarter, which is designed as on campus for freshmen and sophomores and online for upperclass students. The juniors and seniors are slated to return to campus for the winter quarter.

Ashton said the wrestling season is supposed to start in November, though he heard that could be moved back to January. Whether or not that is the last season for Stanford wrestling remains to be seen.

Ashton, Darracott and the many trying to save Stanford wrestling hope for the best.

“Sign the petition and voice your opinions to help us and help the other 240 athletes that got their sports cut at Stanford,” Ashton said. “It’s not just wrestling. A lot of my friends on the field hockey team or men’s volleyball team or sailing team or whatever were affected, not just the ones on the wrestling team.”