CITIZEN Est. 1988 Covering Dacula, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Buford, Sugar Hill, Braselton
Vol. 31 No. 6
Sweet Tea & Sisters page 2
.COM
N o rt h
gwinnett FREE
APRIL 2019
www.gwinnettcitizen.com
Student Council Organizes Dacula High School’s First CURE 3k Color RuN By Julie Thompson GwinettCitizen.com
Weekends!
page 4
When tragedy struck the close-knit community of Dacula, everyone felt it. When cancer claims a child’s life, it affects everyone — the parents, teachers, friends — the whole community grieves. But where some despair, others find opportunity to come together and make a difference. And that’s what Dacula High School’s Student Council decided to do. When new council members completed their application, they were prompted to describe a project they’d like to see implemented. Tia Lamont, a Sophomore, wrote on her application that she wanted to do a Color Run – she saw it as a fun way to raise money. On his application, Harper Day, also a Sophomore, wrote he wanted to do a fundraiser for CURE,
See CURE on Page 18 Super Heroes
page 17
Runners enjoyed clear skies at Dacula High School’s first CURE Color run.
Agriculture’s impact in Gwinnett
Special photo
GenRx in Gwinnett — Changing Perceptions and Re-educating a Community
Kicking off your heels page 19 Special photo
Commissioner Gary Black of the Georgia Department of Agriculture mingling with members of the Buford-Lanier Woman’s Club after his speech on March 13, 2019.
INSIDE Citizen Connection Gwinnett Pulse Health & Wellness
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By Julie Thompson GwinnettCitizen.com Many Gwinnettians may not recognize how the Georgia Department of Agriculture impacts their lives each and every day. Hardly limited to the farm to table process, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) lends a hand in services ranging from pest control to food processing. The GDA has 14 departments including the Animal Industry, Food Safety, the Laboratory Division, and
Licensing. “Those are the types of things — there’s structure market control, market products, ensuring animal safety, work from commercial staples, pet rescue groups — all that is your Georgia Department of Agriculture. A little over 600 people work for us and work for you every day,” said GDA Commissioner Gary Black to a gathering at the Buford-Lanier Woman’s Club meeting on Mar. 13, 2019.
See IMPACT on Page 16
Special photo
Diana Plazas, Director of the Gwinnett Chapter of GenRx, holds an EMMY award for the 30-minute documentary produced at CETPA, a nonprofit providing drug abuse and mental health counseling services in Norcross.
By Julie Thompson GwinnettCitizen.com Changing perceptions and debunking myths about prescription drug use is something Diana Plazas, Director of the Gwinnett Chapter of GenRx, does every day. She had already been to three schools delivering information-
al materials and setting up parent workshops when she met with the Gwinnett Citizen at CETPA, a mental health and addiction counseling nonprofit out of which she operates. Meadowcreek High, and Norcross High are two she works with frequently, but in recent months she’s also been zeroing in on middle
See GEN RX on Page 14