LOVE OF LACROSSE, 1B
Collins Hill sixth-graders bring diversity to field
LEAVING A LEGACY Buford seniors looking to finish with strong run • Sports, 10A
Gwinnett Daily Post WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
75 cents ©2018 SCNI
Vol. 48, No. 69
Deal talks legislation to change tax code FROM STAFF REPORTS
news@albanyherald.com
ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal, along with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston, on Tuesday outlined updates to HB 918, which addresses the state tax code. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration, now combines the 2017 Internal Revenue Code bill, HB 821, with 2018 IRC updates. It also addresses the state revenue projections resulting from the Federal Tax Act. HB 918 would double the standard deduction for Georgia taxpayers for all filing statuses, effective Jan. 1, 2018. It also would reduce the income tax rate for individuals and businesses from 6 percent to 5.75 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Finally, the legislation includes a provision further reducing the tax rate to 5.5 See DEAL, Page 9A
BOC accepts donation of land for park expansion BY CURT YEOMANS curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com
It’s not often that an item presented to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners by its attorney has one of the commissioners at least a little giddy with excitement, but Tuesday was one of those times. Gwinnett County Commissioner Lynette Howard told her colleagues that she was excited about a land donation that County Attorney Bill Linkous presented to the board during the commission’s morning work session. The property is 33.9 acres of land next to Bethesda Park, and she said it will become part of the park to make room for future improvements. The land that was turned over to the county is sandwiched between the existing park property and a neighborhood. “We can do a trail that will go in on that side of Bethesda Park (on the property),” Howard said after the donation was accepted at an afternoon meeting. “We’re all for trying to get more land that is really not usually for other developments or taxgenerating property. “If it isn’t, then (property owners) don’t have to pay taxes on it and we can use it for trails so that everybody can benefit from it.” As part of the agreement, the county will pay Susan F. Eldridge, who offered to make the donation, $1,250 per acre for the See EXPANSION, Page 9A
Day of drafting
Ethan Williams and his teammates begin to draft a team building design on a computer with the help of Columbia Engineering employee Craig Wall. (Staff Photos: Trevor McNaboe)
Coleman students design mock buildings with engineers BY TREVOR MCNABOE trevor.mcnaboe @gwinnettdailypost.com
Through the misty and dreary Tuesday morning, excitement and buzz about spending a day learning about engineering permeated through Lashandia Hill’s eighth-grade foundations of engineering class. As a way to celebrate National Engineering Week, the class from Coleman Middle School, located off Main Street in Duluth, spent the day at nearby Duluth-based engineering company Columbia Engineering and Services. Linda Cerjan, marketing manager at Columbia Engineering, represents the company on the Coleman Advisory Board and wanted to promote a partnership between the two. “I wanted to bring value to being on the board, ” Cerjan said. “We wanted something that we could have a meaningful relationship with the students and something they could get benefit out of.” Initially, the plan was to have a group of students come to the work site for lunch and give them an opportunity to ask questions to a panel of engineers ain an effort to cultivate their interest in the field. “The middle school age is a great place to begin to start thinking about career choices,”
Eighth-grade students Kaleb Skillern, left, Rahul Rajesh, middle, and Jovany Castillo try to get an edge on their design and pitch on Tuesday morning.
MORE ONLINE Visit gwinnettdailypost.com for more photos from the event.
Cerjan said. “Hopefully they’re going to look at their communities in a different way. When they look around and see the development in their communities, they have more of a sense that went into that development.” Cerjan shared the idea with
one of the owners and said they took it a step further by allowing the students to get hands-on experience as an engineer. Hill described the day as a miniature internship because her students were able to get experience from completing a task outside of the classroom. “This is very empowering for these students that already have an interest in the field,” Hill said. “They get to interact
with real engineers, in a real engineering firm environment. This fits right in with what we’re doing for our projectbased learning.” This partnership between the school and engineering firm is one that Hill said was encouraged heavily by Gwinnett County Public Schools. “It’s not about just receiving money from businesses but
See DESIGN, Page 6A
Officials break ground on first part of GJAC expansion of the building. The expansion is an effort to relieve growing pressure on the judicial system caused by After years of waiting to the explosive growth in be ready Gwinnett County Gwinnett’s population that leaders officially kicked off has occurred since the centhe expansion of the Gwin- ter opened 30 years ago. nett Justice and AdministraFunding for the expantion Complex on Tuesday. sion was approved by voters County commissioners as part of the 2009 special and court offi cials broke purpose local option sales Gwinnett County officials ceremonially break ground on ground on the $75 miltax referendum. the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center expan“Most of you all out sion project Tuesday. The first phase of the project will lion expansion, which is entail building the first part of a new parking deck. (Staff designed to add more space here for this groundbreakfor the court services side ing today know this was a Photo: Curt Yeomans) BY CURT YEOMANS
curt.yeomans @gwinnettdailypost.com
long-awaited project that will help resolve pressing needs for our citizens, the public that comes here and is summoned here, our judiciary and our employees of Gwinnett County,” County Administrator Glenn Stephens said. Phase I of the expansion project will entail the construction of part of the new GJAC parking deck. Once that part is finished, possibly by the end of this year, the county will tear down
the original parking deck to make room for Phase II of the new deck and eventually the new courts wing of the building. Construction is expected to be finished in 2020. “I’m excited about this,” Commissioner Lynette Howard said. “This is a place where people come for life-changing events. It could be for a marriage license, a birth certificate, an
See GJAC, Page 6A
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