Gwinnett Daily Post Special Section - Progress-In-Gwinnett-2011

Gwinnett Daily Post • Sunday, February 27, 2011

2F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

INDEX w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

• BROAD PRIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4F • GWINNETT CHAIRMAN . . . . . . . . .5F • AIRPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5F • GMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6F • GCPS BUDGET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6F • HUDGENS CENTER . . . . . . . . . . . .7F • DRUG CARTELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8F • 287(G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8F • GGC LIFE SCIENCES CENTER 9-11F • HOSPITALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13F • ONLINE REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . .14F • GEORGIA FORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . .15F • G-BRAVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16F • FIRE STATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . .16-17F

4F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: BROAD PRIZE w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY Gwinnett County Public Schools won the 2010 Broad Prize for Urban Education, receiving $1 million in scholarships for seniors graduating this May. THE HISTORY In 2009, GCPS became the second school district in Georgia ever to be nominated for the Broad Prize, the largest education award in the nation. School systems cannot apply for the award. The 100 largest school systems in the country are automatically eligible, and a committee reviews student achievement data to see which districts have done the best job in educating minorities and students from low-income families.

Each year, five finalists are nominated for the prize. Judges visit schools and interview stakeholders in each of the finalist districts. The winner of the award receives $1 million in scholarships, and the finalists each receive $250,000 to help its students with college expenses.

Gwinnett didn’t win the top award in 2009, but 13 students each received college scholarships worth about $20,000.

KEY PLAYERS: • Eli Broad, philanthropist • U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan • J. Alvin Wilbanks, superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools • School board members Robert McClure, Louise Radloff, Mary Kay Murphy, Daniel Seckinger and Carole Boyce LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES In April, it was announced that Gwinnett was again a finalist for the prestigious Broad Prize.

In a ceremony in October in

New York, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the school system had won the award.

APRIL 2, 2010

OCTOBER 20, 2010

PENALTY KILLER, 1B

EAGLES, BRONCOS KEEP DIGGING Local teams advance in state volleyball playoffs. 1B

Brookwood dashes Berkmar’s hopes with win in OT.

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THIS YEAR’S NEWS For about 50 seniors graduating this May, the prize means lots of scholarship money.

Students attending a four-year college can receive awards of $20,000, while those attending two-year schools can get $5,000 scholarships.

The college money won’t necessarily go to the best and the brightest in the county. A criterion to receive a scholarship is that a student must demonstrate improvement in their academics from their freshman year to their senior year. Because their gradepoint averages are a little lower than those who excelled throughout high school, the students might not be eligible to receive any other scholarships.

The scholarship money is designed to reward students who have overcome struggles because the Broad Prize is awarded to districts that have demonstrated improvement in student achievement.

Along with scholarship money, winning school systems also receive national attention. Districts throughout the country want to know the secrets to Gwinnett’s success.

The win also warranted a visit from Duncan in January. The nation’s top education official participated in a roundtable discussion about Gwinnett’s culture with educators, parents and business leaders.

Unfortunately for the class of 2012, Gwinnett won’t be eligible to be a finalist again this year.

The year after that, however, is fair game.

WEDNESDAY October 20, 2010

FRIDAY April 2, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 40, No. 172

Gwinnett schools up for top prize GCPS selected as finalist for Broad Prize for Urban Education

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — For the second year, Gwinnett County Public Schools

has been selected as a finalist for the largest education prize in the country, guaranteeing the district a minimum of $250,000 in college scholarships for its students.

Georgia’s largest school

system is one of five urban school districts selected as a finalist for the 2010 Broad Prize for Urban Education.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation also chose Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina,

Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and Socorro Independent School District and Ysleta Independent School District, both of El Paso, Texas.

Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent J.

Alvin Wilbanks said he’s pleased the district has again received such prestigious recognition, but he’s especially proud of the school system’s employees.

“You don’t get recognized by the Broad Foundation unless you’ve got good things going on in the class-

room,” Wilbanks said, adding, “All of those districts are good districts, so (the recognition is) not something we take for granted. We think we’re a good district, but we’ll have to put our best foot forward • See Schools, Page 7A

Teens arrested in bomb incident

Capping it off

www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

WORTH

WINNING POINTS GWINNETT COUNTY SCHOOLS: 2010 BROAD PRIZE WINNER

MILLIONS

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Man shot in drive-by outside pool hall

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen @gwinnettdailypost.com

NORCROSS — A man was struck by a bullet outside a Norcross pool hall early Thursday morning.

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Police said the victim, 29-yearold Oscar Rodriguez of Doraville, had just exited Impacto Billiards on Jimmy Carter Boulevard with a friend about 3:13 a.m. when a red Chevrolet Blazer pulled alongside them. At least one gunshot was heard coming from the vehicle.

Rodriguez was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center with at least one gunshot wound. He remained hospitalized Thursday, but was expected to survive his injuries.

Gwinnett County Police are investigating any possible relationship or dispute that may exist

between the two suspects that occupied the vehicle and the victim.

Police ask anyone with information to call 770-513-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS. Information can be provided anonymously and a reward of up to $2,000 is being offered.

A four-legged graduate

Shelter dog completes U.S.D.A. training program

trol officer who specializes in hard-to-place pets.

About a year ago, the U.S.D.A. training facility moved from Orlando, Fla., to Newnan, giving local canines a second chance.

At the shelter, Hughes said, Pepper never even got a name because officers did not want to get too close after she came in as a stray.

“She’s a very sweet dog, but she’s a very busy dog,” Hughes said, adding that the dog had too much energy to sit in a potential owner’s lap and bond “She just didn’t click

given her up.

“I had a really good feeling about her from the beginning,” said U.S.D.A. training specialist Jenni Anderson.

Like many recent graduates, Pepper will soon leave for a new life in a new city. She has a job to do, sniffing for apples, mangos, pork and beef at Miami International Airport.

Two more of Gwinnett’s shelter dogs are expected to graduate from a cargo training class next month, and another will be in the next class Anderson said adding that the

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — At a graduation ceremony in Newnan on Thursday, Chris Hughes was as proud as a parent.

The graduate, though, stood on four legs and was more interested in treats than pomp and circumstance.

Pepper, a young Beagle-mix, became the first Gwinnett County shelter dog to gradu-

OUTPERFORMED SIMILAR DISTRICTS IN GEORGIA The county outperformed other state districts that serve students with similar income levels in reading and math at all school levels.

NARROWED ACHIEVEMENT GAPS Achievement gaps between black and white students in Gwinnett County were among the state’s smallest in reading at all school levels and in elementary and middle school math.

Between 2006 and 2009, participation rates rose for Gwinnett’s black and Hispanic students taking the SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement exams.

STAFF WRITER deanna.allen @gwinnettdailypost.com

Jason Hunter, an employee with Hunter Incorporated, helps install the new Coolray Field sign over the outfield video board on Thursday afternoon. The old Gwinnett Braves sign will be hung in a different spot in the stadium, along with another Coolray Field sign at the entrance to the stadium. The entire process to remove and install the new 10 foot by 50 foot sign took about eight hours. The Gwinnett Braves home opener is next Thursday and tickets are still available.

Among the reasons in 2009 Gwinnett County stands out among the largest school districts in the country:

ACHIEVED HIGH SAT, ACT, AP PARTICIPATION RATES.

BY DEANNA ALLEN

LAWRENCEVILLE — Two teens have been charged with a number of offenses after fire investigators said the duo threw a small bomb into the front yard of a Lawrenceville residence.

The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The device sparked a small fire in the grass, but did not cause any damage to the house or a nearby vehicle.

The identities of the teens are not being released because they are juveniles. Both are charged with terroristic threats, manufacturing, possessing and using a destructive device, violation of the Georgia Street Gang Prevention Act, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a pistol under the age of 18 and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

Fire investigators spent much of the day Wednesday canvassing the neighborhood and taking with residents.

They believe the act to be gang-related.

“Authorities take incidents of destructive devices extremely serious,” said Capt.

Tommy Rutledge, spokesman for Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services. “This type of act is dangerous to life and property and is a threat to public safety.”

During the canvassing, investigators recovered an unregistered handgun and a stolen vehicle that were unrelated to the incident and made a third, unrelated arrest.

Vol. 41, No. 31

HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS PERFORMED AT ADVANCED LEVELS. A greater percentage of Gwinnett County’s black, Hispanic and low-income students performed at the highest achievement levels on the state reading and math assessments at all school levels compared with their counterparts statewide.

Photo: Diane Bondareff/ Broad Foundation

Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, center, Educator Association Representative Tim Mullen, left, and District Board Chair Mary Kay Murphy react after Gwinnett County Public Schools wins the 2010 Broad Prize in New York.

Gwinnett County Public Schools wins nation’s top honor

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

SUWANEE — Watching the announcement of the winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education was like having your team win the Super Bowl, Jenkins Elementary School principal Dot Schoeller said.

When Gwinnett County Public Schools was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the nation’s largest education award, a room where about 250 people were watching a live webcast of the presentation exploded with applause and cheers.

“It was even better than when Georgia scores a touchdown in Sanford Stadium,” said Demming Bass, the vice president of

INSIDE TODAY

ON THE WEB For a photo slide show, visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com.

public policy at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

The state’s largest school system became the ninth district in the country — and the first in Georgia — to win the Broad Prize. The school system will receive $1 million in scholarships for seniors graduating this year.

“It means an awful lot,” Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said. “All of the districts that were recognized were worthy and great districts. I felt good coming here, and I would have been happy as a finalist, but now I’m happier.”

School board member Carole

Partly sunny with a slight chance of rain.

Highs in the 70s ............4A

■ Sports Dacu-

Boyce said she and the other Gwinnett County Board of Education members were “just ecstatic” about the announcement.

“We really, really are,” she said. “It’s tremendously exciting for all of us, and it’s validating for the teachers (and other district personnel).”

Boyce, who went to New York City for the announcement, said she kept her fingers crossed as the finalists who did not win the top prize were named.

“It was obvious to us what a great chance we had,” she said.

• See Broad, Page 7A

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Back home in Gwinnett, Area Superintendent Gale Hey, left, and Delores Dixon, executive director of school operations and support, celebrate the announcement while watching via a web feed with a large group of people at the Instructional Support Center in Suwanee.

Lilburn report supports Lasseter’s first move: need for sports complex Delay airport proposals

BY RANDY COX

■ Weather

INSIDE Editorial: County should cheer GCPS’ accomplishment ....6A

Staff Correspondent

LILBURN — The City of Lilburn released Tuesday night its preliminary findings for a proposed $15 million sports complex.

The report states Gwinnett County has a high participation rate in Little League and softball leagues

cities.

These findings, which came from the Big League Dreams Facility Market Study, were discussed at a combined work session of the Lilburn City Council and the city’s Downtown Development Authority.

At a recent meeting, the council had approved a license agreement to grant a 100 percent refundable pay

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — As her first big move at the helm of the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners, Shirley Lasseter d i

INSIDE ■ All property owners to get tax assessments next year ................2A

scheduled this month to request proposals from companies qualified to be considered for the partnership. Three companies have submitted qualifications, i l di fi h h bi

UPCOMING EVENTS March 19

Community Garage Sale April 29 Lilburn Relay Rally May 7 Community Garage Sale May 28 Memorial Day Celebration June 3 - Aug 26 Lilburn’s Farmers Market June 4 Community Garage Sale June 24 Lilburn Idol I July 8 Lilburn Idol II

August 5 Lilburn Idol Final September 17 Community Garage Sale October 8 Lilburn Daze October 15 Community Garage Sale November 6 Veteran’s Day Celebration December 2 Christmas Tree Lighting December 3 Christmas Parade December 10 Jingle Bell Run

— by Heather Darenberg

Keep an eye on our website, cityoflilburn.com, for events and news!

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • 5F

THE HEADLINES: BRISCOE FIELD

DATE HERE

w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

• Gwinnett Airport LLC

THE STORY The fate of the Gwinnett County Airport — and, many fear, the city of Lawrenceville — rests in a longawaited County Commission decision on whether to allow a private company to take over operations.

THE HISTORY Many Gwinnettians thought the future of Briscoe Field was decided in the early 1990s, when hundreds of people stormed the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center demanding that the small airfield continue to be used for general aviation and not as a reliever to Atlanta’s growing Hartsfield Airport.

But in late 2009, a company propositioned leaders with the possibility of adding commercial flights, an idea they say could add $1 billion in economic development and 20,000 jobs in the next decade.

While commissioners mulled the idea, residents began to organize, concerned about noise, traffic and the possibility their home values could plummet by a major airport.

It became a major issue in the 2010 campaign for the County Commission and is a concern among voters poised to choose a new chairman in a special election this March.

MARCH 2, 2010

GGC: Jobs could be eliminated

KEY PLAYERS • Brian Allen, Gwinnett’s transportation director • John Heard, a Gwinnett commissioner whose district includes the airport • Gwinnett’s to-be-determined chairman • Federal Aviation Administration • Citizens for a Better Gwinnett, a group opposing the proposed privatization and expansion • Propeller Airports Briscoe Field: Originally under the name

JUNE 25, 2010

Propeller Investments, Brett Smith first contacted the county proposing his company be allowed to take over the airport and allow commercial flights. The most is known about this company’s intentions through a website, whyprivatizebriscoe.com.

• American Airports: One of the largest general aviation airport management companies in the country. The company manages five airports in California and one in Arkansas and has submitted qualifications to manage Gwinnett.

JANUARY 23

GRAB IT, IF YOU CAN

SECOND CHANCE, 1B

Release of latest iPhones creates mad rush, long lines • In W&N, 7A

Milo returns to Gladiators, helps with team’s resurgence.

Proposed cuts may also force school to reduce enrollment

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

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STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photos: Jonathan Phillips

Yolette Antoine, a certified nursing assistant, left, helps Amy Somers color a picture as Lynn Pecook sings to CNA Lawanda Karim at Annandale Village on Friday. The D. Scott Hudgens Center for Skilled Nursing at Annandale Village has been rated five stars by U.S. News and World Report.

In good hands 3 local nursing homes get five-star rating

LAWRENCEVILLE — Proposed cuts in state funding could force Georgia Gwinnett College to eliminate 20 faculty and 12 staff positions and request that enrollment be capped at 3,000 students this fall, GGC President Daniel Kaufman said Monday.

The college’s share of a $300 million shortfall in the state’s higher education budget would be $2.66 million — in addition to a previous $4.3 million cut for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, a news release states.

“An additional $2.6 million budget reduction will move us backward, not forward,” Kaufman said. “What is especially painful is that we would have to turn away hundreds of applicants to reduce enrollment to a cap of 3,000.”

The college also would delay plans to establish its nursing program, which has been approved by the Board of Regents.

In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on higher education, University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll Davis said last week he charged the 35 presidents in the system to

Ernest Manus, left, John Gay and the Rev. William Corley talk in the dining hall at Gwinnett Extended Care at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville on Friday. The center has been rated five stars by U.S. News and World Report.

adults with developmental disabilities.

The D. Scott Hudgens Center for Skilled Nursing provides all of the services of a traditional nursing home while specializing filling the needs of individuals with a primary diagnosis of

mental retardation or other developmental disabilities.

It was the only nursing home in

BY CAMIE YOUNG

• See Homes, Page 5A

IFYOUGO

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com Snow. Windy.

Highs in the upper 30s. Lows in the 20s........4A

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett’s pre-application for a federal program allowing the privatization of the county airport is nearly complete.

Commissioners today will consider giving Chairman Charles Bannister the authority to sign the forms — expected to be complete in the next week or so — to reserve one of two final spots for the Federal Aviation Agency’s program, which would forgive about $30 million in federal grants if the county moves forward.

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Latest figures show Gwinnett ahead of state, national averages

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — For the 32nd consecutive month,

Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is now 9.7 percent, according to figures released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor.

The state’s seasonally adjust-

ed unemployment rate declined to 10.2 percent in May, down one-tenth of a percentage point from a revised 10.3 percent in April. However, the jobless rate remains seven-tenths of a percentage point higher than the 9.5

percent at this same time last year.

At 9 percent, Gwinnett County’s unemployment rate in May was lower than the state’s and nation’s. But the county’s unemployment rate rose slightly from

• What: Board of Commissioners meeting • When: 10 a.m. work session, 2 p.m. business session today • Where: Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville

Leaders gave the go-ahead to begin the process in January, promising an extensive public hearing process if the pre-application is approved.

Gwinnett Transportation Director Brian Allen said the county could get the thumbs up from the FAA within about 30 days of submitting the forms. At that point,

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officials will seek proposals from companies interested in buying or leasing Briscoe Field.

At least one company, New York-based Propeller Investments, has expressed an interest.

Propeller has created a Web site whyprivatizebriscoe.com to highlight its proposal, which would include offering commercial flights to regional airports such as Dallas, Las Vegas, Boston and more.

Leaders said a county study would include possibilities of continuing the airport operations as is, pursuing privatization but remaining a general aviation airport and pursuing privatization with commercial offerings.

©2011 SCNI

Airport vote won’t be on ballots

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — March ballots will not give voters an opportunity to sound off on a controversial airport privati-

zation proposal.

The idea of a non-binding referendum as part of the March 15 special election for chairman was floated Thursday during a listening session between commissioners and the public.

Commissioners liked the idea,

but when staffers researched it Friday, they said it can’t happen.

Elections Director Lynn Ledford cited a 1990 attorney general opinion that local governments cannot expend funds for public opinion or straw poll questions on ballots.

“Some county expense would be incurred in placing the question(s) on the ballot and the actual count of the vote,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Such an expenditure would not be authorized absent some statutory basis.”

Questions are regularly part of

BY CAMIE YOUNG

Staff Photos: Jason Braverman

Nelson Archer, left, voices his opinion as his wife, Karen, sits by his side during a rally against the privatization and expansion proposal of the Gwinnett airport Thursday at the Gwinnett County Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville. About 200 people attended the event.

Fight or flight Residents voice anger at airport proposal

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Nearly two decades ago, the last time commissioners considered an expansion to Briscoe Field that would allow commercial flights, 3,000 people showed up at the

ON THE WEB Visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com for a slide show of Thursday’s rally and for a map of expected flight paths to Gwinnett County Airport.

courthouse.

Leaders said Thursday they had a lot of work to do to reach those levels, as about 200 people rallied outside the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse against the current privatization and expansion proposal.

“We as a group need to stick together,” said Bill Atkinson, a former county commission chairman.

Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps said commissioners • See Fight, Page 9A

Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps, left, and Lawrenceville resident and business owner Larry Troutman put yard signs around the Gwinnett County Historic Courthouse prior to Thursday’s rally.

25th annual recycling event also helps build community

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

SENIOR WRITER

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Gwinnett Heat’s Keitra Douglas (11), a sophomore at Berkmar High School, shoots for two points during their first game of the 2011 basketball season on Saturday. Students from different high schools across the county play for the Heat.

Hoops with heart

LAWRENCEVILLE — It was beginning to smell a lot like Christmas on Saturday at Bethesda Park.

The aromatic scent of pine, cypress, spruce and fir waftON THE WEB ed about as hunFor a photo dreds of former slide show, visit Christmas trees www.gwinnettdaiwere chipped into lypost.com mulch.

“The smell is so strong, I can taste it,” said Meadowcreek High sophomore Kareen Huynh, one of more than 120 volunteers who helped lug trees during Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s 25th annual “Bring One for the Chipper” Christmas tree recycling event.

The number of trees recycled this year is still being calculated, said Connie Wiggins, the executive director of

Wheelchair sports team learns camaraderie

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@ gwinnettdailypost.com

DULUTH — When Martinez Johnson woke up Saturday morning, he was excited. Basketball season had finally arrived.

But after the game Saturday afternoon, a different feeling consumed Johnson: disappointment.

The Gwinnett Heat, the county’s adapted sports

■ Weather Partly sunny.

Highs in the 40s. Lows in the 20s. ......4A

State officials shut Duluth’s iconic restaurant on Wednesday due to owed taxes places that is more than just a restaurant. It is one of those places the

• See Airport, Page 6A

loose ends together,” said Johnson, a Buford junior who was the team’s leading scorer last season. “We’ve got to get a better game plan. ... Everybody’s got to be on their A game.”

A post-game pep talk from coaches didn’t cheer Johnson up. When asked how he felt, Johnson simply said, “Horrible,” as he shook his head.

Others on the team weren’t quite as despondent after the loss. Lanier seventh-grader Stephen Hobson,

ON THE WEB For a photo slide show, visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com

team, fell 32-12 against the Atlanta Wolfpack in its first game of the varsity basketball season. Although the Heat gathered momentum toward the end of the game, it wasn’t enough to overcome the points the Wolfpack, the defending state champions, racked up in the first half.

“We didn’t put all the

who scored four points in the game, said he was feeling “pretty confident.”

Hobson acknowledges there’s room for improvement. He thinks the team needs to develop more trust between the players. But he’s also optimistic about the rest of the season.

“The coaches are great,” said Hobson, who is in his first year with the Heat but has experience with BlazeSports.

• See Hoops, Page 6A

• See Trees, Page 10A

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Lisa Liu and Gande Li help grab trees from a pile at Bethesda Park in Lawrenceville before they are recycled on Saturday. The annual Bring One for the Chipper event had more than 120 volunteers.

INSIDE TODAY

Rexall closes doors, but vows return

BY CAMIE YOUNG

the primary process, but Ledford said political parties can place questions on their ballots since they are sharing in the expense of the election. The law also allows the Legislature to place

Locals help turn trees into mulch

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett County Public Schools is hoping employees will pull the plug.

Energy audits identified a way for the state’s largest school district to save about $698,000 a year — remove personal desk and floor lamps and compact refrigerators from classrooms and offices.

By doing this, the audits conducted by utility providers found the district could see “immediate and significant savings,” GCPS spokesman Jorge Quintana said.

The school system asked local school leaders to participate in the no-cost savings initiative starting this summer, Quintana said. To help accommodate the needs of employees and students, the school system is suggesting full-sized refrigerators be located in centralized locations on the school campus, such as teacher workrooms, instead.

In addition, the district is asking employees to turn off lights and computers and unplug all nonessential electronic equipment at the end of each day, Quintana said.

“These energy initiatives will help to raise awareness, reduce consumption, save money and protect the environment,” Quintana said.

Vol. 41, No. 113

Official: Local governments can’t spend money for public opinion in election

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

• See Congress, Page 8A

• See Unemployment, Page 9A

SUNDAY January 23, 2011 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Audit: Removing lamps, fridges can save $698K

Others considering campaigns following Linder’s retirement

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the revised April figure of 8.9 percent and is higher than the 8.4 percent rate in May 2009.

In neighboring Barrow County, the 10 percent unemployment rate in May was the same a year ago. The revised April rate was 10.1 percent.

Lights out for GCPS teachers

• See GGC, Page 5A

LAWRENCEVILLE — State Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, Monday was the first to jump into the race for Congress, after U.S. Rep. John Linder’s surprise retirement announcement this weekend.

About a half dozen other politicians have said they are considering campaigns, including Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, Sen. David Shafer, Reps. Clay Cox, R-Lilburn, and Jeff May, R-Monroe and Gwinnett GOP Chairman Chuck Efstration.

Balfour, who is the chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee and heads the National Conference of State Legislatures, is a formidable competitor to become Linder’s replacement after 18 years in office. The Waffle House executive, like Linder, was first elected to his current position in 1992 and is the longest serving Republican senator in the state.

“Elections should be about leaders standing up to defend conservative principle,” Balfour said. “I am running for Congress to serve the people of the 7th district and to fight for the conservative principles we hold dear. We deserve a Congress that rises above political pettiness and balances the Federal budget just like the citizens of the 7th District do every day.”

While Linder plans to retire to a family farm in Mississippi, he said he plans to continue publicizing his FairTax plan, which

Vol. 40, No. 244

Unemployment growing, layoffs slowing

Don Balfour seeks seat in Congress

BOC to consider pre-application forms to privatize county airport

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

©2010 SCNI

ON THE WEB For a statement from GGC president Daniel J. Kaufman regarding possible cuts, visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Adam Pomeranz was out of the state at a conference when he got a voice mail from the chairman of Annandale Village’s Board of Directors asking him to return the call.

“I couldn’t tell by the tone of his voice what (the call was about) so I was a little apprehensive,” remembered Pomeranz, who serves as executive director of Annandale.

But the news turned out to be good.

Charles Lotz had just picked up a copy of U.S. News & World Report and read about the overall five-star rating D. Scott Hudgens Center for Skilled Nursing had received for the current quarter.

The center was one of three in Gwinnett that received the rating.

“He’s been on the board 35 years,” Pomeranz said of Lotz. “He’s watched Annandale grow from serving eight people to now 130. He was just thrilled.

He was ecstatic when I called him.”

The Suwanee nursing home is owned and operated by Annandale Village of Suwanee, a community that serves

$2.00

FRIDAY June 25, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

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Suwanee couple believes horse has what it takes to make it to Kentucky Derby.......1C

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Jane Fonda talks about the importance of staying physically active as you age.

Wesleyan’s leading receiver Jones transfers to Central Gwinnett..........1B

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES Gwinnett County filed a “preapplication” to the Federal Aviation Administration for a grant program that would allow privatization without requiring the government to pay back FAA grants used over the years for upgrades to Briscoe Field.

Preliminary approval came in May, allowing the county to take proposals from companies and study the benefits and drawbacks.

In August, three companies submitted their qualifications to be considered for the project: Propeller Airports Briscoe Field Inc., American Airports and Gwinnett Airport LLC. Gwinnett Department of Transportation has yet to make a recommendation on whether one, two or all of the companies can submit specific proposals, because commissioners placed the issue on the back burner until new commissioners were elected in November.

The issue will likely linger until a new chairman is selected, either in March or an April runoff.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The discussion may have stalled, but the fight’s not over yet.

Commissioners explored the possibility of including a non-binding referendum on the ballots during the March 15 special election, but Elections Director Lynn Ledford said a 1990 attorney general opinion shows local governments cannot spend money for public opinion or straw poll questions on ballots.

While voters won’t be able to show their opinions at the polls, Commissioner John Heard said he still wants to know what the public thinks.

Gwinnett Daily Post Publisher J.K. Murphy agreed to run a survey in the newspaper, and Heard said he’s looking forward to seeing the results.

Heard has also said he’s going to push for a resolution to the issue once the new chairman is seated.

— By Heather Darenberg and Camie Young

decades ago.

Alley bought the building from

THE HEADLINES: GWINNETT CHAIRMAN w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY The second largest county in Georgia has been without a chairman for almost half a year, after Charles Bannister’s surprise October resignation.

THE HISTORY Few projected the upheaval that would occur when a special grand jury convened, at the request of District Attorney Danny Porter, to look into several controversial land purchases made since Bannister took office in 2004. But before the report even came out, Bannister had resigned and Commissioner Kevin Kenerly was indicted on a bribery charge. In the report, the grand jury said Bannister agreed to resign to avoid indictment on perjury charges.

KEY PLAYERS The key players in 2010 are different than the ones who will be in the headlines in 2011.

• Danny Porter: Gwinnett’s district attorney, who requested a special grand jury to look into land deals after years of trying to get regular grand juries to probe individual

OCTOBER 9, 2010

cases.

• Charles Bannister: One of Gwinnett’s longest serving politicians.

From a Lilburn City Council seat in 1970s, he later became mayor, then spent nearly two decades in the General Assembly before being elected county chairman in 2004. He survived a re-election bid in 2008 only to resign in disgrace in 2010.

Bannister has made few appearances at political events since.

• Shirley Lasseter: The former Duluth mayor was catapulted to the forefront after less than two years in office as commissioner. As vice chair at the time of the resignation, Lasseter became the county’s highest figure head and had to juggle her full-time job with the duties of chair.

• Will Costa: A Libertarian from Lilburn who entered the four-person race for chairman • Larry Gause: A former Naval office campaigning in the chairman’s race • Duane Kissel: Retired assistant police chief now seeking the county’s highest office • Charlotte Nash: Retired county

OCTOBER 13, 2010

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD Mill Creek..........47 Meadowcreek ......0

Grayson ............16 Dacula ..............10

Apalachee ........34 Rockdale Co. ....14

North Gwinnett..38 Norcross ..............0

Parkview ..........24 Central Gwinnett.17

Duluth ..............46 Mountain View ..22

Buford ..............47 Clarkston ............0

Wesleyan ..........49 King’s Ridge ........6

GAC ..................28 Decatur ..............18

Archer ..............17 Shiloh ................14

Collins Hill ........14 Peachtree Ridge.10

South Gwinnett.54 Berkmar ............27

Heritage ............14 Winder-Barrow ..13 (OT) Hebron ..............42 GMC ....................7

BOBBY SAYS GOODBYE, 1B

Carrollton..........49 LaGrange ............0

Braves prepare to move on without longtime skipper.

75¢

Vol. 41, No. 22

www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

including Gwinnett, hoping to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding.

ATLANTA — The firstThe districts are asking ever challenge to Georgia’s the court to toss out a May charter school law went ruling by a Fulton County before the state’s highest Superior Court Judge court Tuesday, with seven Wendy Shoob that declared public school districts, the Georgia Charter Schools

Commission constitutional and affirmed it wasn’t breaking any laws by moving money from public school districts to charter schools.

But the school systems’ attorneys argued the charter schools commission is illegal because it is creating an

independent school system prohibited by the state constitution. And the districts say the money is actually local dollars that belong to the public school systems, not the state.

For Gwinnett County Schools, the state’s largest,

’’

the commission is taking $800,000 annually for Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all-girls charter school in Norcross. That reduction in funding means the local districts either ‘‘have to raise taxes or have to reduce services,’’ said attorney Tom

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

LAWRENCEVILLE — Charles Bannister has resigned as chairman of the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners.

As a grand jury mulled possible charges in land purchase controversies, Bannister announced he was done with politics after a rocky year that included

IN HIS WORDS File Photo

furor over a millage rate increase and garbage pick-up as well as a recall attempt and DUI charge that was later dismissed.

Until a special election can be held, Commissioner Shirley Lasseter, the board’s vice-chair, will step into the role of the top elected official.

Bannister issued the following statement, citing a “trying” year that has put strain on his family and his health: “While I am proud of Gwinnett Coun-

ty Government’s many accomplishments over the past six years and had hoped to guide more of this Board’s work to completion, I find myself near the end of an extremely trying year that has placed an undeserved strain on my family and has threatened my own health.

“I believe that stepping down at this time is necessary to preserve my family’s • See Resigns, Page 9A

Lasseter steps in as county’s top official interim chairwoman of the Board of Commissioners, with the immediate departure of Charles Bannister.

“Citizens Shirley s h o u l d Lasseter expect county government’s normal day-

to-day operations to continue during this transition period,” County Administrator Glenn Stephens said in a statement.

“Gwinnett County government is a strong, well-managed organization comprised of capable leadership and employees, and they will keep the important work of county government moving forward.

“The board’s vice chairman, Shirley Lasseter, is empowered to fulfill the chairman’s responsibilities when the position is vacant.

Over the next several days, county staff will review state law to determine the timing and process for permanently filling the chairman’s seat.”

• See Lasseter, Page 9A

“While I am proud of Gwinnett County Government’s many accomplishments over the past six years and had hoped to guide more of this Board’s work to completion, I find myself near the end of an extremely trying year that has placed an undeserved strain on my family and has threatened my own health. I believe that stepping down at this time is necessary to preserve my family’s well-being and will allow the important business of Gwinnett County to move forward without further distraction.

COMING SUNDAY An in-depth look at Charles Bannister’s career.

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Cox, who represents Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County Schools.

Defense attorneys say the commission is within its rights to take money from the districts because it’s state

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Competition donates $600 worth of food to local co-op ....................3A

Bank of America halts all foreclosures in all 50 states..6A

Dow Jones closes above 11,000, first time since May.........6A

Bulldogs’ date with Volunteers just afterthought in SEC picture ....................2B

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Lottery ............ 4A Obituaries ........9A Perspective ......8A Real Estate ......5C

Vol. 41, No. 37

Report: Bannister bargained Documents show jury didn’t indict because chairman resigned

BY CAMIE YOUNG

ON THE WEB To read the grand jury presentment in full, visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com.

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@ gwinnettdailypost.com

•See Ruling, Page 9A

LAWRENCEVILLE — Charles Bannister asked a grand jury if they would excuse a

crime if he resigned from office, a report released Tuesday said.

Bannister resigned as chair-

man of the Board of Commissioners that day, Oct. 8, and the grand jury decided to return a “no bill” of indictment on a charge of perjury — which could have carried a 10-year prison sentence.

“The Grand Jury weighed the

possible outcomes,” the report said, after noting that the proposed charge was based upon contradictions in testimony, not the Palm Creek park site purchase in question. “If we had returned an indictment then removal from office would have

depended upon the outcome of the criminal trial. The Grand Jury decided that assured, permanent removal from office was the appropriate solution to one of the problems we • See Report, Page 6A

Public calls for Kenerly to resign

to set vote

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

Chairman resigns amid controversy

BY CAMIE YOUNG

TUESDAY January 25, 2011 ©2010 SCNI

Radio personality joining Grayson cheerleading squad for a week

Stocks.............. 4A Sports ..............1B Television........11B World&Nation ..6A

Delivery Problems? Your satisfaction is our number one priority. If we miss delivery of your Gwinnett Daily Post, call our circulation department customer service line, 770-3395845, or e-mail the circulation department at circulation@gwinnettdailypost.com between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Customer Service is staffed until 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. weekends and holidays to handle your subscription questions.

LOGANVILLE — Morning radio personality Wendy Adams is fulfilling a high school dream.

Adams is returning to her alma mater this week as a cheerleader.

“The one thing I regret from high school was never being on the cheerleading squad,” said Adams, a 2003 graduate of Grayson High School.

Adams said she was the “shy girl in high school” and intimidated to try out for cheerleading. Instead, she was a peer leader and participated in band and color guard.

“I always watched from the stands,” she said.

Not this Friday.

After Adams, a co-host of The Bert Show on Atlanta radio station Q100, talked about her regret on the air, the school invited her to visit and join the squad one week.

Adams will run out on the field with Grayson’s varsity football squad at the Friday night game against Parkview.

She’ll stay and cheer during the first quarter.

“We’re so excited to have Wendy come back and join us and to show her how much fun cheerleading can be,” said Michelle Jones, Grayson’s head cheerleading coach.

Adams is also getting a taste of the squad’s weekly activities. She visited the high school Tuesday afternoon to help the girls create the runthrough banner, and she’ll stop by this afternoon to learn 20 to 25 cheers, plus a touchdown dance.

“It’s cool that she wants to come back and (live) her dream that she wanted to pur-

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

BY CAMIE YOUNG LAWRENCEVILLE — Four days after the resignation of Gwinnett’s chairman, officials are still tight-lipped about the process to replace him.

“It’s a more complicated process than just calling an election,” said government spokesman Joe Sorenson, explaining that in certain cases the governor can quickly call an election, but because the ‘‘We’re just county is a cremaking sure ation of the legislature, he is not everything is in involved in this place ... It’s not process. just like calling a had“Wethis haven’t happen referendum for a before,” he said.

“There are several (sales tax).’’ steps involved that Government spokesman we have to check.”

While Sorenson would not confirm any details as the plans are being finalized, the first date allowed for a special election is March 15.

“We’re just making sure everything is in place for that” election, he said. “This is unusual. It’s not just like calling a referendum for a (sales tax).”

Charles Bannister resigned the chairman’s position Friday, as a special grand jury met for an investigation into land purchases. On Monday, a judge released information that the jury issued “no bill of indictment” on a charge of perjury against Bannister, although the final report from the group is not expected to be released until Oct. 22.

In the interim, Commissioner Shirley Lasseter has taken over the duties of the chairman.

Sorenson pointed out that the chairman is an elected position, so Lasseter, who represents District 1, retains her position, but as the elected vice chair is acting in the stead of the chairman. The Board of Commissioners elects its vice chair

Joe Sorenson

Photo: David McGregor

Grayson High School graduate and Q100 radio personality Wendy Adams paints a cheerleading banner on Tuesday afternoon in Grayson HIgh School cafeteria.

Adams is a 2003 graduate of Grayson.

ing, but they aren’t the stereotypical mean girls.

On her first day with the squad, Adams said she was having fun.

“All the girls are so sweet and super spunky,” she said, adding that she was also impressed •See Dream, Page 9A

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett County Public Schools is a step closer to naming this year’s top

INSIDE TODAY

schools and charter systems and systems with an Investing in Educational Excellence contract with the state. Gwinnett County Public Schools was the first district in Georgia to enter into an IE2 contract.

“Our visit to Norcross High School will provide our participants a look at a large school that is able to provide its students personalized instruction,” said Stephen Dolinger, president of the • See Tour, Page 12A

• See Kenerly, Page 6A

teacher.

Julie Bailey-Wegner, a fifth-grade teacher at Mulberry Elementary; Debbie Trevino, an eighth-grade language arts teacher at Bay Creek Middle; Sergio Parra, a Spanish teacher at Osborne Middle; Jennifer

Helfrich, a media specialist at Radloff Middle; Katie Saldarriaga, an ESOL teacher at North Gwinnett High; and Steve Kuninsky, a science teacher at Parkview High, have been named finalists for the 2011 Gwinnett County Teacher of the

Year title.

As the final element of the judging process, a selection committee will complete an observation of the six teachers in their classrooms. During the visit, committee members will look for original teaching methods, how

the teachers demonstrate their philosophy of teaching, and special class projects, according to a news release.

The finalists also will share more about themselves through an interview process with the selection committee.

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Carol Jones, right, talks with Tasia Hicks and Jasmine Washington as they work on a project in biology class at Norcross High School on Tuesday. Jones is one of about 70 people on the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s 18th annual Bus Trip Across Georgia which toured seven schools throughout the state. The tour included a combination of educators, business, government and community leaders.

Tour of excellence Various leaders pay visit to Norcross High on bus trip

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

NORCROSS — Two tour buses filled with educators and community leaders visited Norcross High School on Tuesday as part of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s 18th annual Bus Trip Across Georgia.

Norcross was one of seven achieving, innovative public schools selected as stops on this year’s tour, according to a

news release. The 2010 theme is “Greater Flexibility, Greater Focus on Results.”

The tour, which included a combination of educators, business, government and community leaders from throughout the state, began in 1993 and has been a fixture in state education circles ever since. Schools selected as stops have a proven track record of academic excellence and sustained performance.

This year, there was an emphasis on the flexibility provided in charter

•See Vote, Page 9A

Gwinnett’s Teacher of the Year list narrows to six

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Commissioner Kevin Kenerly made motions Tuesday to allow a truck rental facility and a personal care home, to abandon a former public road and honor two neighbors who stepped in when a woman was being attacked by dogs.

Just days after an indictment by a grand jury was unsealed on a charge of taking a $1 million bribe, calls for the commissioner’s resigKevin nation went Kenerly unheard, as he participated in what could be his third to last Board of Commissioners hearing.

Kenerly listened to several comments from residents asking him to step down, the governor to suspend him or the county commission to ignore his motions before leaving about 30 minutes before the hearing ended.

“It’s been a rocky year in Gwinnett County and there has been a shadow over Gwinnett,” said Sabrina Smith of Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government. “The No. 1 thing that could occur to restore the faith and confidence in our Board of Commissioners ... we would respectfully ask that he resign immediately.”

Kenerly, who has said he will not resign, did not respond to the remarks, before talk turned to a controversial pit bull ordinance.

One commissioner did respond — Shirley Lasseter, who is acting in the

▼

sue,” said Amy Thurber, a junior on the squad.

Thurber said she hopes the experience will show Adams that cheerleaders are outgo-

75¢

75¢ www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Living her dream County scrambles

Charles Bannister

Sunny. Highs in the mid-80s.

Lows in the upper 40s ..4A

Vol. 41, No. 25

GEORGIA CHARTER SCHOOLS

Former Commission Chairman

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

Lawrence happy as Collins Hill’s other guard

WEDNESDAY October 27, 2010

Districts ask justices to toss ruling The Associated Press

— By Heather Darenberg and Camie Young

OFTEN OVERLOOKED, 1B

GWINNETT CHAIRMAN

extremely trying year

LAWRENCEVILLE — Officials hope to make a smooth transition, after the resignation of Gwinnett’s top elected official.

On Friday, Commissioner Shirley Lasseter stepped in as

WINNING PACK

75¢

BY DORIE TURNER

In the past year, the public at large has become increasingly distrustful of the county government. The community rallied against a property tax hike and a universal trash plan, but the measures passed despite the outcry. Many have said they feel elected officials simply don’t listen to their concerns.

All four candidates in the race have said they are committed to running the county in an ethical manner.

At a forum in January, business owner Costa, a Libertarian, and retired Naval officer Larry Gause talked about the importance of listening to the public.

Kissel and Nash have both said they have the experience to navigate Gwinnett through tough financial times.

Although many consider Nash to be the most qualified for the job, others perceive her as being too connected to the old regime.

Ultimately, it will be up to the voters to decide who will fill Bannister’s unexpired term.

JANUARY 25

Buford’s senior softball players chasing title No. 4, 1B

Charles Bannister

I find myself near the end of an

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@ gwinnettdailypost.com

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The election of Gwinnett’s new chairman will fill a void in the county’s leadership, and whoever is chosen will have the difficult job of attempting to restore the public’s trust in a tarnished position.

WEDNESDAY October 13, 2010 ©2010 SCNI

BANNISTER QUITS

BY CAMIE YOUNG

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES Bannister had a rough 2010.

He was arrested on a DUI charge, although the charge was thrown out after blood tests revealed his bloodalcohol content was zero, and he survived a recall campaign when a judge threw out a petition based on the paperwork.

But the Lilburn politician surprised Gwinnett when, instead of facing a special grand jury on Oct. 8, he issued a resignation letter through his attorney.

County leaders did their best to create a transition, placing much of the power into the hands of Lasseter and setting a March 15 special election to find Bannister’s permanent replacement.

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Lambert ............17 Johns Creek ........7

SATURDAY October 9, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

‘‘

administrator from Dacula in the chairman’s race

Three of the six finalists will be designated as the Elementary, Middle and High School Teachers of the Year. As the only elementary school finalist, Bailey-Wegner automatically becomes •See Teacher, Page 11A

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

TEACHER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: SERGIO PARRA, OSBORNE MIDDLE

‘Every kid can perform’ 50 percent chance of rain.

Highs around 80. Lows in upper 50s...4A

■ Local

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

HOSCHTON — Sergio Parra doesn’t just use Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies to inform his instruction. He keeps a laser focus on the research based practices

EDITOR’S NOTE This is the second in a series of six stories highlighting the finalists for Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year.

vocabulary, summarizing, collaboration, student goal setting, literacy, problem solving, questioning, background knowledge, comparison and contrast and technology

www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2011 SCNI

BOC CANDIDATE DEBATE

Who will be chair?

‘‘ ’’ ‘‘ ’’ ‘‘ ’’ ‘‘ ’’ ‘‘ ’’ We need to rediscover what the role of government should be. The course we are on now is unsustainable.

Business owner

Will Costa

Some services are going to have to go, but it’s services the county shouldn’t be doing in the first place. ... We’ve got to get away from doing all things for all people.

Retired Naval officer

Larry Gause

Vol. 41, No. 114

JCPenney store set to close Home furnishing facility in Duluth to be shuttered

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

DULUTH — Joe Allen said he will hate to see the JCPenney Home Store go, but unfortunately, store closings are just part of the ebb and flow of retail.

The Duluth home furnishings store is one of six underperforming locations scheduled to close nationwide, the J.C. Penney Co. announced Monday. The department store at Southlake Mall in Morrow is also slated to close, but the department stores at Gwinnett Place Mall and the Mall of Georgia will remain open.

The Plano, Texas-based company is closing six stores, 19 outlets and two call center locations and continuing to work on an exit from its catalog business in an •See Store, Page 7A

I believe that honesty and integrity should be priority one in our local government. Government is supposed to take care of the citizens.

Retired assistant police chief

Duane Kissel

I believe I can provide the leadership the county needs to stabilize the situation, to balance the budget.

Retired county administrator

Charlotte Nash

Staff Photos: Jason Braverman

Four vying for chairman seat discuss issues at forum

BY CAMIE YOUNG

SENIOR WRITER camie.young @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — After one commissioner’s indictment and the chairman’s resignation to avoid a grand jury, ethics is a big issue for Pat Vines.

That’s why the Lawrenceville woman came to the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center on Monday, taking notes of the four people vying to become the new chairman of the county commission.

“I’m impressed with the candidates,” Vines said. “It makes my decision harder, but that’s actually a good thing.”

Monday night’s forum, sponsored by the Gwinnett GOP, was the first where all four candidates faced the public, and they were sure to tell voters that ethics is at the top of

INSIDE TODAY

I’m impressed with the candidates. It makes my decision harder, but that’s actually a good thing.

Lawrenceville resident

Pat Vines

their lists too.

“I believe that honesty and integrity should be priority one in our local government,” said retired assistant police chief Duane Kissel. “Government is supposed to take care of the citizens. ... We’ve fallen off track.”

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

The JCPenney Home Store in Duluth could close as early as June 1, according to company officials.

Kenerly case brief filed in appeals court Document claims grand jury did not have power to indict

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

Kissel and Charlotte Nash, who retired as Gwinnett’s county administrator, leaned on experience, saying they are ready to work immediately to plug an $18 million budget gap.

“I believe I can provide the leadership the county needs to stabilize the situation, to balance the budget,” Nash said.

Business owner Will Costa, a libertarian, and former Naval officer Larry Gause talked about cutting back government and listening to the public.

“We need to rediscover what the role of government should be. The course we are on now is unsustainable,” Costa said.

“Some services are going to have to go, but it’s services the county shouldn’t be doing in the first place,” Gause said.

“We’ve got to get away from doing all

LAWRENCEVILLE — Then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly’s Fifth Amendment rights were violated by a special grand jury, which issued an indictment against him on bribery charges last year, a brief filed Monday with the Georgia Court of Appeals contends.

The brief, filed by attorney Patrick McDonough, Kevin argues that special grand Kenerly juries are empowered to either investigate or indict — not both. So the special grand jury impaneled at the request of District Attorney Danny Porter to investigate questionable land purchases by the government stepped beyond its boundaries in indicting Kenerly, McDonough argues.

•See Chairman, Page 6A

•See Kenerly, Page 7A

6F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: GMC LAYOFFS w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY Gwinnett Medical Center eliminates 160 positions, now seeks to fill 200 THE HISTORY Gwinnett Health System — a combination of Gwinnett Medical Center’s Lawrenceville and Duluth campus — is listed as the thirdlargest employer in Gwinnett County, with only the school system and government employing more.

KEY PLAYERS • Gwinnett Medical Center CEO Phil Wolfe • Gwinnett Medical Center Marketing Coordinator Aaron McKevitt LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES In November, GMC CEO Phil Wolfe sent a memo to hospital associates notifying them that approximately 160 positions would be eliminated, some through layoffs and some through empty positions not being filled.

An attempt would be made to “relocate” some employees into different positions within the hospital system.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS Last November, Gwinnett Medical Center dropped the hammer.

Now it’s lifting it.

In a memo, CEO Phil Wolfe told associates of Gwinnett County’s third-largest employer that there would be a total of 160 positions eliminated in the coming days.

About 60 percent of the jobs lost would come from current positions being eliminated, with the remaining 40 coming from vacant positions not being filled.

Since then, 19 staff members have been relocated within the hospital system, GMC Marketing Coordinator Aaron McKevitt said.

“Following Project TIP, we placed 19 staff members in new roles within the organization,” he said. “We also assisted outgoing staff in identifying opportunities and securing interviews with other area hospitals.”

The cuts came after the hospital launched “Project TIP” in July, a “90-day effort led by associates and physicians to identify opportunities for process improvements, expense reduction and increased revenue,” spokeswoman

Dolores Ware said at the time.

The project charged eight teams with identifying $21.5 million in savings and $2.5 million in new revenue.

The TIP program ultimately identified more than $24 million in savings and $3.5 million in potential new revenues for the hospital.

“Gwinnett Medical Center is among the most well-positioned systems to weather this (economic) downturn,” Wolfe wrote in November, “but there are steps we must take to maintain that position and ensure continued stability.”

After all that, Gwinnett Medical is now looking to hire.

McKevitt said recently that the hospital system is “actively working to fill” about 200 positions in a variety of departments. A portion of those potential hires will be related to the upcoming opening of GMC’s Heart and Vascular Center.

“It should be noted that the hospital continues to bring on new staff as our needs evolve,” McKevitt said.

“We’re expanding a lot of our

services,” he added, “so they are spread out throughout the system.”

— By Tyler Estep

JAN. 28 READY FOR SOME PLAYOFFS? Gwinnett teams launch into postseason tonight.

In Kickoff, 1C

75¢ FRIDAY November 12, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 41, No. 51

Hospital laying off workers Gwinnett Medical Center eliminating 160 positions

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett Medical Center has eliminated approximately 160 positions, after 45 new hires were announced in September.

According to memos obtained by the Daily Post and verified by a GMC spokesperson, President and CEO Phil Wolfe told hospital associates this week that the layoffs are coming.

“Decisions that impact our associates are not easy to make nor are they taken lightly,” Wolfe wrote in a memo dated Wednesday. “Unfortunately, it will be necessary to make some staff reductions. In total, GMC will lose approximately 160 positions.”

According to documents, roughly 60 percent of the jobs lost are the result of current employees’ positions being eliminated. The other 40 percent come from vacant positions not being filled.

Those affected were notified Thursday, spokes-

Photos: David McGregor

Leonard Sobczynski takes a moment to reflect during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville on Thursday.

Important honor County pays tribute to fallen heroes, veterans

•See Hospital, Page 7A

BY CAMIE YOUNG

Olympian stops in Lawrenceville

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — While his great-grandfather saluted as an honor guard passed by, 5-year-old Austin Mann shielded his eyes in a salute-like gesture.

The tiny tyke is getting quite a history lesson from Frank Sinacola, his great-grandfather, a World War II veteran visiting from California.

On Thursday, the pair came out for a Veterans Day ceremony, with Austin’s mom ON THE WEB Denise For a photo slide show, visit Mann www.gwinnettdailypost.com. trying INSIDE t o ■ School honors vets with impart breakfast ..................3A t h e significance to the pre-kindergartner.

“I’m trying to teach him the importance of some of these holidays that seem to be losing their importance,” Mann, who is from Lilburn, said. “It’s important (to Sinacola), so it should be important to our family.”

Austin passed out some pictures he

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BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — With thousands of veterans that call Gwinnett home being honored for their service Thursday, Lawrenceville also welcomed another kind of American hero.

Apolo Ohno, the most decorated American winter Olympian of all-time, stopped by Books-A-Million at Discover Mills to sign copies of his new autobiography and mingle with the hundreds of fans waiting for him.

“This is what it’s about, just trying to reach as many people as we can, just trying to spread a positive message about what this book is about,” Ohno said.

Ohno has competed in the last three Olympics, taking eight medals in short-track speed skating, a pair of golds among them. His dedication and charisma quickly made him the face of speed skating in the United States, and he parlayed that enthusiasm into a winning effort on a 2007 season of the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” and a side-career as a motivational speaker.

The Washington native most recently won a silver and two bronze medals in Vancouver, and has

Gwinnett County Firefighter Jeff Kendrick leads the Public Safety Honor Guard to the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial during a Veterans Day Ceremony in Lawrenceville on Thursday.

colored to local veterans as the ceremony began, something his mother taught him as the two sent out care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The project is to “thank people who

fighted for us,” Austin explained.

More than 100 veterans and community members attended Thursday’s ceremony, which included the laying of a •See Honor, Page 7A

Army concert draws big crowd

BY TYLER ESTEP

•See Ohno, Page 7A

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DULUTH — With veterans asked to stand to be recognized, seemingly half of the ballroom at the Gwinnett Center found their feet Thursday night.

The sellout crowd of more than 1,600 was there for a special Veterans Day concert by the internationally acclaimed United States Army Field Band

THE HEADLINES: GCPS BUDGET w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY Faced with a projected $80 million shortfall, Gwinnett County Public Schools is going to have to make some major cuts to its budget. Since the budget is still under development, the cuts have not yet been finalized.

THE HISTORY Gwinnett County Public Schools is a growing school system. The growth has not been as rapid as it was back in the early 2000s, when about 7,000 new students joined the district each year, but the total student population in Gwinnett increases each year.

When the economy was good, the school system’s budget increased each year. Bolstered by a tax base that was increasing in value, GCPS could maintain the millage rate and collect more money than it had the year before.

KEY PLAYERS • Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks • Chief Financial Officer Rick Cost

• Chief Human Resources Officer Frances Davis • Spokeswoman Sloan Roach LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES Because of the recession, the local property tax digest took a hit — and so did Gwinnett County Public Schools’ budget. With property assessments declining, the school system received fewer local dollars. Additionally, state funding continued to drop.

The school system implemented several cost-saving initiatives — moving to a four-day work week for schools during the summer, for example. But during the spring, conflict started brewing.

Several teachers whose contracts were not renewed said they were let go for budgetary reasons. The school system refuted that, said nonrenewal is an annual human resources process based entirely on performance. The teachers, in turn, said they were always given good performance reviews. A nonrenewal

is a black mark on a teacher’s resume, and many teachers feared their careers would be ruined. Several said they understood if they had to be laid off because of budget constraints, but they said wanted the school system to admit that instead of lying about the reason they were let go.

The school system maintained the teachers were let go because of poor performance. Leaders also pointed to the number of new teachers hired as evidence the district did not have a reduction in force.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS There’s going to be increased scrutiny this year on Gwinnett’s annual personnel processes.

The displacement process has begun for the year, and the community has expressed concern about a repeat of last year’s controversy.

The sentiment is that displacing teachers is the first step toward let-

— By Heather Darenberg

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JUNE 23, 2010

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ting people go.

When displacements happen, the school system has a surplus of teachers. With the budget crunch, schools are having to increase class sizes, which means they’ll need fewer teachers. Because of that, about 300 teachers have been told they don’t have a position at their school next year.

But the school system said their priority is to place their surplussed teachers into new positions before hiring anyone from the outside.

Some positions will open up because of retirements and normal attrition. Additionally, the school system is still growing, and a new school is opening in August.

Community members, however, are distrustful, and community outcry is brewing. The school system’s budget hearings have typically had poor community attendance, but that may change this year.

Federal judge blocks Obama’s six-month offshore moratorium.

75¢ WEDNESDAY June 23, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 40, No. 242

TRIUMPHANT RETURN, 1B

Broncos’ Faulkner swimming better than ever after injury.

Board OKs same millage rate

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — With none of the tumult that pervaded 2009’s millage rate discussion, commissioners quietly adopted a 2010 rate of 13.25 mills — the same end result as

the 2010 millage rate, which is the same as the one adopted in December.

Commissioners said little about the feat, besides a “Good shape, so far,” from Chairman Charles Bannister.

With the economy still in peril and the real estate market continuing downward, Chief

limbo for months and temporary tax bills were issued, the final millage rate did go up in December, after residents and business officials balked at empty fire stations and decreased services.

Just a month ago, the supplemental tax bills were due.

But no one spoke out against

last year.

A year ago, a controversial proposed property tax increase brought hundreds of people to the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, and commissioners eventually yielded, voting down the tax increase in June.

While the issue remained in

Financial Officer Aaron Bovos noted that the 2010 tax rate will bring in about $31 million less than the 2009 revenues due to the decline in the tax digest.

Officials are expected to consider cost-cutting measures from this year’s Engage Gwinnett process to balance the budget, he said previously.

Trial of ex-cop begins Utter chaos detailed during opening day

BY JOSH GREEN

Check out our photo gallery each week to browse and purchase images from our award-winning photographers.

Go to www.gwinnettdailypost.com and click on "photo gallery."

STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photos: Jonathan Phillips

Alexzia Thomas uses a circular saw to cut a piece for the toolbox she makes during MAGIC Summer Camp at Gwinnett Technical College on Tuesday. For the fourth year, area high school and college students — all girls — are introduced to the opportunities available in the construction industry.

TOOL TIME

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Kayla Sheppard wanted to learn some skills to complete minor repairs around the house.

“Because whenever I have a house of my own, I won’t have to call or pay a man (to fix things),” Sheppard, 18, said.

Sheppard is one of 10 girls participating this week in a day camp designed to teach them the basic skills of carpentry, electrical and welding and introduce them to careers in construction.

As well as teaching them new

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ON THE WEB For a photo slide show, visit www.gwinnett dailypost.com.

skills, MAGIC — Mentoring a Girl in Construction — Summer Camp also fosters self-confidence, several campers said.

“I wanted to come to camp so I could learn how to do household things on my own, be independent and have confidence in myself,” said Adrian Cumberbatch, 19.

Renee Conner, the national executive director of MAGIC Summer Camps, said the session taking place this week at

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Weeklong camp introduces girls to construction

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• See Camp, Page 7A

Instructor Carol Counter, left, helps Lyné Pitt build her toolbox during MAGIC Summer Camp on Tuesday.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Nine lives intersected. Twenty-one bullets flew. Utter chaos, in the words of one prosecutor, ensued.

The trial of former Duluth police Officer Jay Dailey opened Tuesday, detailing through witness accounts the incidents that shattered the communal normalcy of Sugar Hill’s Level Creek Road on Feb. 1, 2008.

The day two o ffi c e r s engaged in a Jay Dailey gun battle with each other, prosecutors believe.

Dailey, a Duluth veteran of four years known as quiet and commendable, is accused of flagging down motorist Leresa Graham, who was en route to work, and assaulting her in the roadway. Prosecutors say he pointed a pistol at two bystanders, then shot and injured off-duty Fulton County police Cpl. Paul Phillips when he stopped to help.

Dailey’s defense attorney, Jeff Sliz, concedes his client shot Phillips, whom he’d never met, and harassed motorists in an inexplicable, drunken rage. But Sliz argues his client has been overcharged by the state, in that some damning felonies he faces such as aggravated assault are evidence of reckless conduct, a lesser charge.

Sliz said his client comes from a long line of alcoholism and depression and had battled both illnesses to keep his dream • See Trial, Page 10A

155 teachers not rehired over performance

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

SUWANEE — The contracts for about 1 percent of Gwinnett County Public Schools’ teacher work force were recommended for nonrenewal this spring.

Nonrenewal is a process the school system goes through each spring, spokeswoman Sloan Roach said. If the school system decides not to rehire a Lottery ..............4A Nation.............. 3A Obituaries ........7A Perspective ......6A

teacher for the next school year, the contract is recommended for nonrenewal.

Out of the district’s 11,000 teachers, the contracts for 155 were recommended for nonrenewal this spring, Roach said.

Unlike some neighboring school districts, the recommendations to not renew some teachers’ contracts were not affected by the current economic situation, Roach said.

The decisions would have been made in good economic times

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as well as bad.

In Gwinnett, nonrenewal is a decision that is solely “based on performance-related issues observed in the classroom or at the local school level,” Roach said. “There are a wide range of activities that can go into that.”

Of the 155 teachers recommended for nonrenewal, 139 were in their first three years of teaching, Roach said.

A number of the teachers chose to resign, and the con-

tracts for 63 were actually nonrenewed, Roach said.

Roach added that the school system has already hired more teachers than the number that were recommended for nonrenewal. As of last week, the school system had hired 349 teachers and still had about 50 vacancies to fill.

“The answer (to whether we’ve had a reduction in force) is clearly seen in that we’re hiring more teachers than were nonrenewed,” Roach said.

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Beads program puts children’s fighting spirit in parents’ hands

GCPS denies mass layoffs

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

SUWANEE — Gwinnett County Public Schools does not plan to address a projected $85 million shortfall by firing hundreds of teachers, a spokeswoman said.

“Oh, heck, no,” spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

School principals are developing staffing plans for next year. As a result, some class sizes may rise, and some teachers may be displaced, Roach said. She said the school system’s priority will be to place those displaced teachers in new jobs before hiring anyone from outside the district.

BY TYLER ESTEP

• See Beads, Page 10A

Vol. 41, No. 117

Cuts to schools still inevitable

STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Ian and Isabella McLeod were born Nov. 8.

Twins born at 23 weeks old, seemingly a lifetime too early.

Just two days later, Isabella passed away from pulmonary hypertension and brain bleeds.

On Nov. 29, Ian was transported from a hospital in Athens to Gwinnett Medical Center’s ON THE WEB Visit www.gwinnett- neonatal intensive dailypost.com for a care unit. His young parents, slide show.

Chad and Kelly McLeod of Social Circle, went with him.

“We’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows,” Kelly McLeod says recently. She’s sitting in GMC’s NICU, her home away from home. Ian, weighing just 1 pound at birth, is a few feet away in an incubator.

McLeod’s husband chimes in.

“And it’s all told, right there in those strands,” Chad says.

On this day, the “strands” around Kelly’s neck number 10. Now there are 11, with another quickly approaching.

Each represents one week Ian has spent at Gwinnett Medical.

On them are symbols of the NICU’s most recent undertaking, one of compassion and comfort, and one that no other neonatal unit in the country has adopted. They are dozens and dozens of “Beads of Courage.”

Piloted by an Arizona nurse in 2004, the Beads of Courage program typically gives glass beads to childhood cancer patients, a type of therapy to help them “record, tell and own their stories of courage.” Beads are given for each scan, each treatment, each trial they go through.

• See GCPS, Page 5A

Man freed after fall in manhole Supervisor injured in work site incident

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Above, 3-week-old Dallas Potts holds onto her mother Danielle’s finger in the neonatal intensive care unit at Gwinnett Medical Center on Thursday. The beads lying next to them commemorate each trial, tribulation and procedure Dallas has undergone as part of the Beads of Courage program. The NICU at GMC is the first in the country to adopt the program, which started as a type of therapy for child cancer patients and their families. Top, Chad and Kelly McLeod play with baby Ian, who was born Nov. 8 at just 23 weeks old.

Hundreds of Beads of Courage hang around their necks.

DACULA — A construction supervisor was rescued Thursday morning after plummeting 15 to 20 feet into a manhole at a grocery store construction site in Dacula, officials said.

The unidentified man is a supervisor with an excavating and grading company. He was adjusting piping at the Fence Road site of a new Kroger projected to open in coming weeks, officials said.

• See Manhole, Page 5A

Officials argue small houses lead to big sales But not all commissioners agree on limiting size of future home construction

BY CAMIE YOUNG

world than it was in 2006,” when the original zoning hearing was held for Bogan Meadows, a 103-lot subdivision on North Bogan Road, said Hank Roland on Tuesday. “This is an attempt to bring Bogan Meadows back to construction.”

Only three homes were built and occupied in the subdivision before the housing crisis brought a halt to

SENIOR WRITER camie.young @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Commissioners want to revive the local construction economy, but they are divided on whether to allow smaller homes to get builders back in business.

“It’s a much different

much of the residential construction in the county. It left only a handful of neighbors in a pipe cemetery.

Twice, Roland said, companies have studied the market to see if the project could be revived. Both times, the studies found that the zoning requirements of a minimum of 2,400-square-feet for two story homes was too large to build at the $165,000 to

$185,000 range the market would accommodate.

So Roland went before commissioners hoping to set the minimum allowed for single-story homes — 2,000-square-feet of minimum heated floor space — as the minimum for both ranches and two-story homes.

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

• See Homes, Page 5A

One of only three houses stands built and occupied in the 103 lot Bogan Meadows subdivision in Buford.

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.

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THE HEADLINES: HUDGENS CENTER w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY After facing severe economic turmoil in 2010, the Hudgens Center for the Arts now has its eyes set on major projects

NOVEMBER 20, 2010

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75¢

Truck slams Hudgens raises more than $90K into apartment, Fundraising effort for Duluth arts center more than triples original goal injures child

BY TYLER ESTEP

THE HISTORY The Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts was officially organized in 1981, originally holed up in the 2,000-square-foot Williams House in Lawrenceville. In 1993, the nonprofit arts organization moved to the Gwinnett Center, where it offers wide range of classes, events and exhibits.

KEY PLAYERS • Board of Directors Chair Stan Hall • Executive Director Teresa Osborn LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES In October of 2010, Hall issued an urgent cry for help to the Gwinnett public. The Hudgens was in desperate need of money just to keep the lights on. The goal was $30,000 in 30 days, as the organization waited for larger, longerterm donations.

It raised roughly $90,000.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The Hudgens is getting back on stable ground.

In October 2010, the Hudgens Center for the Arts found itself in a place it had never been before.

Struggling to raise enough money for basic operating costs, the nonprofit arts organization based in Duluth needed cash fast.

Leadership went to the press, and put out an all points bulletin.

“There are certain times when it’s just tighter (money-wise), and this is for us one of those times,” Osborn said at the time.

It was an understatement. It costs a lot of money to maintain the spacious building stationed amid the Gwinnett Center complex, as much as $3,000 for monthly power bills. Staff and budgets were cut to the bone.

Nails were bitten to the quick.

STAFF WRITER tyler.estep @gwinnettdailypost.com

TUESDAY October 5, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 41, No. 18

BY JOSH GREEN

Cops raid party house

STAFF WRITER josh.green @gwinnettdailypost.com

Authorities find illegal guns, drugs, underground bar

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

STATHAM — What started as a weekly family house party amid the rolling pasturelands and sprawling estates of eastern Barrow County morphed, over the course of a decade, into a rollicking shindig rife

with narcotics and illegal liquor sales, authorities said.

On Sunday night, law enforcement decided it’d had enough.

Roughly 160 officers — including SWAT teams and Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department personnel — descended on a small, one-story home at 524 Thurmond Circle near Statham,

a town about 10 miles east of Winder.

During the raid and a subsequent investigation that spilled into Monday morning, officers reportedly found illegal guns, drugs and an underground bar and gaming room.

Staff Photo: Josh Green They made 15 arrests and detained Authorities say this home on Thurmond Circle in rural Statham traditionally hosted up to 400 revel• See Raid, Page 7A ers on Sunday nights.

Hudgens in need of ‘immediate’ cash relief

MEGA MART GRAND OPENING

Nonprofit arts organization hopes to raise $30K by end of the month

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photos: Jason Braverman

Noh Chun Haw prepares steamed dumplings on Monday during a media event at Mega Mart at Gwinnett Place Mall. The superstore is set to open Friday.

One-stop shopping Superstore features clothing, groceries

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@ gwinnettdailypost.com

DULUTH — For Korean business giant Mega Mart’s first foray into America, the company chose a destination with a large concentration of Asian residents.

But the superstore that features groceries and clothing at Gwinnett’s oldest mall isn’t just catering to Korean customers.

“Here, we have everything,” purchasing manager Mike Choi said at a tour Monday, the first chance for many of the media and local

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business officials to see the store that has driven excitement into the 26-year-old Gwinnett Place Mall.

Choi said that many of the local Asian markets feature only the fare from the Far East, driving both Asian and American consumers to two stores. Mega Mart has both — plus a second story filled with clothing and restaurantstyle delis in three cuisines.

“You’ll see Asian, American. You’ll find it all,” Choi said, pointing out that Mega Mart is located in the old Macy’s space at 60 percent of the groceries Gwinnett Place Mall and has men’s and women’s are American, and in the clothing and accessories on the second floor. With clothing area, much of the 16 stores in Korea and three in China, purchasing manager Mike Choi said the store is bringing a new • See Superstore, Page 6A concept to the Duluth community.

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IFYOUDONATE • To make a donation online, visit www.thehudgens.org. Donations can also be made by mailing a check to Gwinnett Council for the Arts, Inc. dba Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Building 300, Duluth, GA 30097. Call 770-623-6002 to make a donation by phone.

Police search for man wanted for sexual assault Suspect allegedly groped 14-year-old girl in Wal-Mart

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

Mostly sunny.

Highs in the upper 60s.

Lows in the 40s ......4A

DULUTH — A nonprofit arts organization in immediate need of donations is seeking help from the Gwinnett community.

The Hudgens Center for the Arts is asking individual donors to consider making a contribution to help sustain the organization until additional, long-term funding is received, with the goal of raising $30,000 in 30 days.

An urgent appeal from Hudgens Board of Directors Chair Stan Hall went out Friday.

“The biggest need the Hudgens faces today is an immediate influx of cash to sustain the organization at its present level while the acquisition of long-term funding can be achieved,” Hall wrote. “Solicitations to major donors and foundations have been made but may be some time in coming.”

Donations will be used to pay the immediate operating costs of the facility.

“There are certain times when it’s just tighter (money-wise), and this is for us one of those times,” said Teresa Osborn, executive director of the Hudgens. “It’s just right now we need people’s help (and) if you don’t let people know what you need they won’t be able to help you.”

Osborn said Hudgens is not only seeking to raise money but to cut costs where possible, including possibly delaying some needed maintenance to the facility.

“You either raise funds or you cut expenses,” she said, “and we’re hoping to do both.”

LILBURN — Lilburn police are asking for help identifying a man wanted for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl inside a Wal-Mart store.

The man allegedly slapped and groped the buttocks of the young girl near the cosmetics depart-

ment at the Wal-Mart location at 4004 Lawrenceville Highway, fleeing in the vehicle of another man just before 9 p.m. Sept. 1.

After a delay securing surveillance footage, Lilburn officials released the video Monday. The suspect is described as a white man between 20 and 30 years of age, short and heavy-set, at approximately 5-foot-5 and 180 pounds.

Video shows him wearing jeans and a striped shirt.

The man fled the scene with a black man, Lilburn police spokesman Capt. Bruce Hedley said, but that man has not cooperated in identifying the suspect.

“We got a tag number from one of the store employees that followed them out,” Hedley said.

“He said he was just giving him a ride. We don’t necessarily believe that story, but nevertheless that’s all the information we have.”

The identified Lawrenceville man is not considered a suspect, just a “witness to the identity” of the assailant, Hedley said.

Sexual battery against a juvenile under the age of 16 is considered a felony in Georgia.

The victim and the suspect did not know each other, Hedley said.

Anyone with information concerning the identity of the suspect is urged to call Det. Jeff Kinney at 770-921-2211.

Through the Hudgens’ public outreach, about $90,000 was raised in just over a month.

“That was the beginning of some good things that happened for the Hudgens,” Hall said during a recent interview.

Another understatement.

LAWRENCEVILLE — A child was hospitalized with minor injuries when a truck slammed into a Norcross apartment building in the 1800 block of Jerry Way about 3 a.m. Friday, officials said.

The driver, Maria Estela Martinez-Hernandez, 28, of Norcross, was arrested on charges of DUI and hit and run, police said.

Hernandez reportedly veered off the roadway and struck a bedroom wall at the Tuscana Apartments where four occupants slept inside, said Fire Department spokesman Capt.

Thomas Rutledge.

Emergency responders transported one child,

about 5 years old, to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta with a minor injury. The child’s father was evaluated for a minor injury and released at the scene. The mother, another child and the truck’s driver escaped injury, Rutledge said.

All four were reportedly in the bedroom where the truck hit.

A wrecker removed the truck from the apartment building. Rutledge said two of five units in the building will be uninhabitable until repairs can be made.

County inspectors were expected to evaluate the structure Friday.

Hernandez remains at the Gwinnett County Jail, where she’s being held for federal immigration authorities, records show.

Students get week off for the holiday

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Students and teachers in Gwinnett County are getting an early holiday treat: an entire week off for Thanksgiving break.

In years past, Gwinnett County Public Schools were in session the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Schools, however, reported seeing higher absenteeism during that time, and in developing this year’s calendar, one

option was to extend the Thanksgiving holiday, spokeswoman Sloan Roach said.

“It did meet with a lot of approval from those in our schools,” she said.

While schools will be closed, district offices will be open Monday and Tuesday, Roach said. Wednesday is a furlough day for 12-month employees, and Thursday and Friday are holidays.

Buford City Schools will also be closed all next week for the Thanksgiving break.

Classes resume in both districts on Nov. 29.

DULUTH — The Hudgens Center for the Arts reached out to the community in October, urgently asking for donations to help feed its dwindling base of operation costs.

It was an overwhelming success.

Since going public with its needs — a risky move, officials said — the Duluth arts center has raised more than $90,000, more than tripling what seemed like a

lofty goal.

“It was just a tremendous success” Hudgens Board of Directors Chair Stan Hall said Friday. “The money came from private donors, it came from those people who are members of the Hudgens, it came from corporations, it came from foundations.”

“It just went well beyond what we thought we could actually do. We’re just tickled to death to be able to raise that kind of money when people are really watching their pennies.”

Funds raised were not earmarked for any specific

Gas South newest sponsor of the arena ■ DULUTH — Gas South has become the newest sponsor of the Gwinnett Center. The company, which is the state’s fastest-growing natural gas provider for the past two years, will have its distinctive flame logo on signage at the arena, conference center and performing arts center as well as on the Diamondvision Billboard along Interstate 85.

“Gwinnett Center is one of the leading entertainment and conference centers in the metro area,” said Kevin Greiner, CEO of Gas South. “Gas South is proud to be the official natural gas provider for the Gwinnett Center, and very happy to take the relationship a step further with a high-profile presence within the arena and on Gwinnett Center grounds.”

Gas South, which has worked to build an active business and high-profile

Special Photo

Fred Ctibor, Georgia’s Own Credit Union Grayson branch manager, Kathy Igou, vice president of branch services, and Grayson Mayor Jim Hinkle cut the ribbon on the Georgia’s Own Credit Union branch in Grayson.

sponsorship presence in the county, is a sponsor of the Gwinnett Braves and Chairman’s Club sponsor of the Gwinnett Chamber.

Earlier this year, Gas South announced a marketing alliance partnership with the City of Norcross which allows Norcross

Residents will have chance to decide on $2.8 million repair financing in March

BY CAROLE TOWNSEND Staff Correspondent

be held March 15, giving voters the choice of using a bond to finance the $2.8 million price tag.

Mayor Lois Salter and the rest of council are waiting to see whether FEMA will increase its financial contribution to the repairs, pending review of a final geo-technical report to be delivered by the city’s engineers

help. Since launching its campaign, the center has also looked into its own spending, reducing itself down to “a fairly bare bones budget.”

Staff hours and operation hours have been rolled back, and extra attention has been paid to simple things like making sure lights are out in rooms not being used. Without help, though, there’s not much more the Hudgens can do.

“We’re down to the point where we can’t cut a whole lot more and maintain credibility as the arts organization we want to be,” Hall said.

IN BRIEF local

Berkeley Lake moves toward bond referendum BERKELEY LAKE — City Council members voted Thursday to take the first step in seeking a bond to finance the necessary repairs to the Lake Berkeley Dam. City Attorney Dick Carothers will engage bond counsel, and a special referendum will

purpose other than general operating costs, Hall said.

But for nonprofit arts organizations, those can be a burden.

“We needed, and need, operating money,” Hall said.

“The Hudgens is a huge facility and I doubt that people have any idea what it costs to run that place, just on a monthly basis as it pertains to utilities and our staff.

We have a very small staff, but they don’t want to work for free.”

Even with the extreme success of recent fundraising efforts, the Hudgens is always in need of funding

before Thanksgiving. If FEMA representatives decide that more federal dollars should be spent on dam repairs, the amount of the bond will be decreased accordingly. The total cost of repairs is estimated to be about $4 million.

Miramont road repairs to begin Butch Thompson Enter-

prises has been awarded the paving contract to repair roads in the Miramont subdivision in Berkeley Lake. The city commissioned an outside engineering survey to determine the priority of needed repairs in the city, and Miramont’s roads were identified as the most urgent. The contract amount is $254,429.

residents and businesses to receive discounted natural gas rates through Gas South.

Georgia’s Own opens branch in Grayson ■ GRAYSON — A

new branch of Georgia’s Own Credit Union celebrated its grand opening in Grayson on Friday.

Mayor Jim Hinkle, members of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and members of the community celebrated the arrival, along with Jeff Dauler of All the Hits Q100.

And the 76-year-old credit union made another gift to the community, presenting the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry with a check for $1,000 to help the local food bank.

“Georgia’s Own was founded on the principle of ‘people helping people,’ and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate our grand opening here than by recognizing an organization who lives by the same creed,” said Kathy Igou, vice president of branch services.

“It’s an honor to contribute to the good work they do for so many.”

The new branch is located at 2437 Loganville Highway in Grayson. Its phone number is 404-575-1889.

— From staff reports

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P.O. Box 603 Lawrenceville, GA 30046

Thanks to a partnership with another unnamed donor, the Hudgens is now in a position it hasn’t been in a long time, if ever.

The donor has graciously agreed to provide a large sum of money for what Hall called “fairly major refurbishings,” including a

new roof that would run close to $500,000. That, obviously, is money the Hudgens doesn’t have.

“Someone approached us with the opportunity, and it won’t cost us anything out of our capital expenses,” Hall said.

The Hudgens expects to start taking bids on construction of a new roof in mid-March. Other aesthetic modifications will come along the way.

But another proposed gift is one that may unfurrow the brows of the Hudgens’ directors for the foreseeable future. The Hudgens is in talks with that same donor for a monthly donation, one that would cover most, if not all, of the center’s bills and operating expenses.

“That’s what our conundrum has always been, we have to do what it takes to keep the doors open, which is fairly substantial for a building that size,” Hall said.

“We were fairly ecstatic over (the donation). It’s going to be money that goes toward power bills and all the utilities that are just tremendous for that big of a facility.”

Amid all the economic turmoil, the Hudgens hosted its first-ever major arts competition, offering up an enormous $50,000 prize — supplied by an unnamed donor — to the winner. It’s a project it hopes to bring back, along with other high-profile undertakings.

The 34,000-square-foot Hudgens, and its organizers, can now focus solely on what the group was founded to do: increase the presence and awareness of the arts in Gwinnett County.

“The Hudgens Prize is just the beginning of the kind of quality that we want to put out there,” Hall said. “It really put us on the map, not only here in Gwinnett County but across the state and across the country.”

“Everything is just really positive right now.”

— By Tyler Estep

8F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: 287(g) w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE HISTORY The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department applied for the 287(g) program in March 2008 and received the unanimous support of Gwinnett County Commissioners in funding 18 deputy positions required to implement and run it. Officials activated it locally Nov. 16, 2009.

OCT. 15. 2009

JAN. 10, 2010

local&state Suit challenges 287(g) enforcement local officers in immigration law enforcement and enables them to identify and detain illegal immigrants, who can then be turned over to ICE. It has become a rallying point for immigrant rights activists all over the country who say it encourages racial profiling and discourages Latinos from reporting crimes for fear of being deported.

The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, reported in March that the 287(g) program was poorly supervised and provided insufficient training to officers. The inspector general made recommendations for overhauling the program.

It was the second critical report for the program. The Government Accountability Office had criticized it in July 2009.

Meder said the program is unconstitutional because it ‘‘impermissibly delegates federal power to local authorities with insufficient oversight.’’

Kuck doesn’t support the 287(g) program but said he believes Congress specifically authorized ICE to delegate enforcement authority to local entities. ‘‘Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s unconstitutional,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t think there’s any harm in challenging it, but I don’t expect the suit to

local

go anywhere. And I certainly don’t think it will be given class-action status.’’

Brittney Nystrom of the National Immigration Forum, a Washington-based immigrant advocacy organization, said she hasn’t heard of any other lawsuit that directly attacks 287(g) on its merits. ‘‘Most of the advocacy around this program is that local authorities aren’t using the authority they’re given correctly, that there’s racial profiling, for example,’’ she said.

The three named plaintiffs in the lawsuit ‘‘each represent a different kind of abuse’’ of the program, Meder said.

One, a Mexican citizen who came to the U.S. legally in 2004 but overstayed her authorization, was arrested after a car crash for not having a driver’s license and is being deported. The second, an illegal immigrant arrested on a shoplifting charge, is in deportation proceedings. But the lawsuit argues she should be able to stay until her criminal case is decided. The third is an El Salvadoran immigrant who has legal authorization to work in the U.S. but was arrested in July on felony forgery charges.

Authorities say he used a false immigration document to renew his driver’s license, a charge he denies.

■ LAWRENCEVILLE — In observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a local church will be hosting a celebration of survivors on Saturday.

It’s estimated that 2009 brought 125 domestic violence-related homicides in Georgia. Brought to you by the Circle of Sistas, the two-hour “Talk It Out” event held at First United Methodist Church at 395 W. Crogan St. in Lawrenceville will be raising awareness for the cause.

The free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with refreshments provided by Loving Hut Restaurant.

For more information, visit www.circleofsistas.vpweb.com, or call 678-978-4963.

678.365.3025

$2.00

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES At the one-year mark, 287 (g) in Gwinnett was hailed by supporters as a cost-saving measure that had clamped down on the arrests of illegal immigrants, many of whom may have fled the county, officials said.

287 (g) opponents voiced concerns that the program was based on racial-profiling.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS Conway said the 287 (g) program saved Gwinnett taxpayers roughly $6 million in inmate housing costs during its first year, due to a steep drop in foreign-born inmate bookings.

“I didn’t expect to see the number of foreign-born inmates being booked into the facility decrease as rapidly as they did in the first year,” Conway told the Daily Post earlier this month. “I didn’t think that would happen until the program had been up and running for a couple of years.”

WEDNESDAY November 17, 2010 ©2010 Triple Crown Media

REGISTER ONLINE AT: www.atlantafalcons.com/tara

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www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Number of foreign-born inmates arrested in the last four years

287(g)

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Sheriff Butch Conway speaks to the Daily Post about his view of the newly implemented 287 (g) program and the controversy it has created.

Sheriff: 287(g) works • • • • • • • • •

2.7% Battery

4.5% 4.5%

■ Nation Health bill costs going up..........6A

■ Sports

■ Local Howard enters District 2 race ..2A

INSIDE Classified..........5D Comics ............7C

Cam Brown elected to Hall of Fame ........................1B

Community ......1C Crossword........6D Horoscope........2E Local................ 2A

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

Lottery ............ 4A Nation.............. 6A Obituaries ........9A Perspective ....10A

21.5% Driver’s License

17.8% Felonies

Breakdown of the 1,186 felonies in the last year

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

38.5%

JG: Is that more because word about • See Conway, Page 8A

Other Felonies Child Molestation

1.7% Sex Crimes 1.9% Agg. 2% Child Molestation Burglary Robbery

22.5%

3.3%

Drug Charges Felony

3.4%

Rape Agg. Sodomy Agg. Sexual Battery

3.3% 6% Agg. Assault

8% Theft Felony

• See County, Page 9A

270 Guatemala

9.4% Probation Felony

Of the countries ICE monitors, here are the top four birth countries of foreign-born inmates.

No other country produced more than 22 inmates

276 Honduras

the college has seen since its inception, an increase that is atypical.

“It’s unusual to grow from fall to spring,” said Stas Preczewski, vice president of academic and student affairs. “Normally you lose students.”

As a result of its accreditation this past June and the addition of eight new majors, combined with GGC’s already high retention rates at about

Real Estate ......1D Stocks.............. 4A Sports ..............1B Television..........1E

STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

Traffic Other

DUI

College sees highest midyear enrollment LAWRENCEVILLE — Mary Beth Rumble’s first class at Georgia Gwinnett College — introduction to technology — will begin at 8 a.m.

Monday.

The Lawrenceville resident is one of about 600 students enrolled for the first time at GGC, the highest number of mid-year, new enrollees

BY JOSH GREEN

23.5%

7%

169 El Salvador

■ Weather

Misdemeanor Theft 1% Misdemeanor Drug 0.6%

Other Misdemeanors

LAWRENCEVILLE — County government’s commitment to Partnership Gwinnett is back on track after money was added to the 2010 budget to help the economic development initiative.

Commissioners pledged in 2007 to contribute $500,000 a year to the Chamber of Commerce-led initiative, which was credited with the recruitment of the NCR headquarters to Duluth last year and other achievements.

But the grant was cut short in 2009, when the government faced a budget crisis and slashed spending. The Partnership fund was decreased to $250,000.

This week, though, commissioners approved a $750,000 pledge as part of the 2010 budget.

JG: You’ve seen a tangible impact in the jail already?

BC: Yes. That impact is from not booking as many foreign-born people.

Josh Green: In its first six weeks, 287 (g) will be directly responsible for deporting 286 inmates. Is that number about what you had in mind before-

City/County Ordinance Violations Probation Misdemeanors

BY CAMIE YOUNG

*Source: Gwinnett County Jail statistics updated late Thursday. The “Other” category constitutes countries not tracked

by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. — Josh Green

hand?

Butch Conway: I actually thought the number would be higher. But our jail population numbers have gone down, much more so than I expected.

down, we still saw an increase in foreign national book-ins every year,” he said. “Now they’re down tremendously.”

In the following conversation with staff writer Josh Green, the sheriff discusses community feedback and the attributes of 287 (g), while disputing claims that the program is xenophobic:

Breakdown of the 6,662 crimes/charges in the last year

* Stats are documented from Nov. 16 of the previous year to Nov. 16 of current year

County commits to Partnership

• Philippines -1 • Unknown -1 • Virgin Islands -1

Cuba - 3 El Salvador - 21 Guatemala - 24 Honduras - 38 India - 1 Jamaica -1 Mexico - 227 Other* - 43 Panama -1

What the numbers say about the county’s immigration program

2007* 2008 2009 2010

16.8%

WHO’S BEING DEPORTED? Here’s a breakdown by nationality of illegal alien suspects identified

by Gwinnett’s 287 (g) program since its Nov. 16 activation:* • Africa - 2 • Brazil - 1 • Colombia - 1

DACULA — Two teens are dead and a third was hospitalized following a fatal plunge Saturday into the icy waters of a neighborhood pond.

Rescue workers were called to the Daniel Park subdivision in Dacula on Saturday afternoon after a witness reported seeing three teenagers fall through the ice and into the frigid water.

When crews arrived, one of the teens, identified by witnesses as Alex Paul, had pulled himself out onto a thin sheet of ice and was attempting to locate his friends, who were still submerged.

After coaxing the boy to the shore, where rescuers began treating him for hypothermia and shock, the Gwinnett County Fire Department’s Swiftwater Rescue Team deployed a boat. Unable to locate the other boys at the surface, rescuers used 10-foot pike poles to skim the bottom, where they found the teens, who had been • See Ice, Page 9A

Conway says deportation plan easing jail crowding LAWRENCEVILLE winnett County Sheriff Butch Conway, the shepherd of 287 (g), says the fast-track deportation program is showing clear signs of success less than two months since its activation.

Conway shrugs off claims from immigrant rights activists who complain the program is racially motivated. He points instead to data that show 287 (g) is easing jail crowding and could save the county millions, while pulling lawbreakers by the hundreds from streets and neighborhoods.

Conway credits 287 (g) with a dramatic decrease in bookings of illegal immigrants since its Nov. 16 debut.

Such bookings — which he said can gum the system — dropped roughly 31 percent over the same timespan a year prior. The overall jail population has dipped to 2,400 — levels not seen since early 2007, Conway said.

“Even with the economy going

INSIDE TODAY

Statistics reflect that in the first year of operation, the Gwinnett County Jail booked 4,289 fewer foreign born inmates than the previous year — a drop of 28 percent.

“In looking at our statistics over the last five or six years, that number has never decreased and showed significant increases each year,” Conway said.

Conway said the data show that illegal aliens are either moving out of the county or have stopped committing crimes here that would bring them to police attention.

“That alone tells me the program is working,” he said.

Detractors maintain the program’s negative impact can’t be measured in statistics. Numbers can’t be applied to a collectively lower sense of security and fear of authorities among immigrant groups, they argue.

In the first year, the alleged crimes of the 3,062 inmates detained for federal immigration authorities ranged from a few child molestation and rape arrests (none were charged with murder) to DUI and city ordinance violations.

Records show those immigrants hailed from countries such as Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras and Panama, among others, but roughly two-thirds

©2010 SCNI

ONE YEAR LATER

Only one teen survives plunge into Dacula pond

G

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Two dead after falling through ice

Barnes got tax break for property he didn’t own, campaign says ■ ATLANTA — Roy Barnes claimed federal and state income tax breaks in 2008 and 2009 for depreciation on a house he doesn’t own, his campaign acknowledged Thursday.

Cobb County property records show Barnes’ daughter and son-in-law have owned the house in Marietta since 2007 when Barnes gave it to them. Barnes, the Democratic nominee for governor, owns several properties on the road.

Barnes campaign spokesman Emil Runge called it an accounting error and said, as a result, the former governor had underpaid about $7,500 in taxes for the two years. His accountant is amending the returns to remove the tax break.

News of the tax discrepancy was first reported by the Savannah Morning News.

Runge said Thursday that in the course of reviewing Barnes’ taxes his accountant found another error in 2008 that will deliver the former governor an additional tax refund of about $30,000.

That mistake involved a loss on the sale of shares in Habersham Bank. Barnes initially reported a gain of approximately $34,000 which should have been a loss of approximately $135,000.

— From staff, wire reports

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Los Angeles answers question with single-use bag ban • 8A

Church to honor violence survivors

15,333

ATLANTA — A potential class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Atlanta over a government program that allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration law.

Experts say the lawsuit, filed last week on behalf of three immigrants in Georgia, could be the first to directly challenge the legitimacy of the 287(g) program, which has been used to identify more than 180,000 illegal immigrants for deportation nationwide since 2006. ‘‘I have heard of nobody filing a lawsuit on this, and I would have heard about it,’’ said Charles Kuck, a prominent Atlanta immigration lawyer and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The lawsuit names U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, an investigator for the Georgia Department of Public Safety and other officials as defendants.

A Department of Public Safety spokesman and a spokeswoman for Warren’s office said Thursday their agencies hadn’t seen the lawsuit and couldn’t comment.

ICE did not have an immediate comment.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three immigrants and seeks to define the class as ‘‘all Hispanic persons who have been or will be restrained and interrogated within the State of Georgia’’ by local authorities enforcing federal immigration law under an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As of late September, the 287(g) program had been used to identify 14,692 ille-

gal immigrants in Georgia for deportation in the four years since Cobb became the first county in the state to launch the program, according to ICE. Three additional counties, including Gwinnett, plus the state Department of Public Safety have since signed agreements.

The lawsuit alleges ICE has failed to train, supervise and otherwise oversee sheriff’s deputies in Cobb County, where the three plaintiffs live. It also claims ICE has improperly delegated its power to local authorities. ‘‘This is a bad thing, and it tears apart families,’’ said attorney Erik Meder, who filed the lawsuit. ‘‘While these people are certainly in the country illegally, they aren’t criminals and don’t deserve to be locked up and separated from their families.’’

Immigration officials have broad discretionary power and should not be issuing a notice to appear — which initiates deportation proceedings — for illegal immigrants who are arrested and discovered to be in the country illegally after initially having been stopped for relatively minor offenses, the lawsuit says.

The program is part of the 1996 Immigration and Nationality Act, but wasn’t used much until 2006. It is intended to train state and

LOCAL Pedestrian struck, killed in Snellville, 8A

14,054

The Associated Press

Bisher says affairs more a blow to role as a parent.

11,044

BY KATE BRUMBACK

TIGER’S TROUBLES,1B

IN BRIEF

Sunny. Highs in the 30s. Low around 16 ......4A

KEY PLAYERS • Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway has championed the program for years, with the backing of key government officials.

• Detractors include the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE), whose leaders have staged rallies and prayer vigils against the program.

NOV. 17, 2010

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 • 3A

13,151

THE STORY At its roots, the controversial 287 (g) program is a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act passed in 1995 that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to be trained to identify illegal immigrants and turn them over to federal authorities.

Gwinnett is the largest of four Georgia counties participating; Cobb, Hall and Whitfield counties are the others.

Whitney LeQuire listens during a new student orientation at Georgia Gwinnett College Saturday morning.

• See College, Page 9A

Photo: David McGregor

Delivery Problems? Your satisfaction is our number one priority. If we miss delivery of your Gwinnett Daily Post, call our circulation department customer service line, 770-3395845, or e-mail the circulation department at circulation@gwinnettdailypost.com between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Customer Service is staffed until 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 k d d h lid t h dl b i ti ti

2,053 Mexico

LAWRENCEVILLE — As of Tuesday, the controversial 287 (g) program meant to grease the deportation process had been active for a year in Gwinnett, and its impact appears to be significant.

Most telling among the fertile, statistical soil that 287 (g) has sown is this number: 28 percent.

That’s how much the total number of foreignborn jail bookings has dropped since 287 (g) was activated on Nov. 16, 2009. That’s 4,289 fewer inmates compared to the previous year. The cost to house an inmate is $45 per day, meaning the county saved roughly $130,000 for each day those inmates weren’t incarcerated.

“The program’s doing exactly what we wanted it to do,” said Sheriff Butch Conway, who championed 287 (g) before its local launch. “I think it’s had a profound effect on the population of illegal aliens in Gwinnett.”

But detractors say the program’s negative impact can’t be measured in statistics. Numbers can’t be applied to a collectively lower sense of security and fear of authorities among immigrant groups, they argue.

The crimes of the 3,062 inmates detained for federal immigration authorities have ranged from child molestation and rape (none have been charged with murder) to DUI and city ordinance violations.

Records show those immigrants hail from countries such as Africa, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras and Panama, among others. Roughly 2⁄3 are from Mexico. A handful come from westernized European countries like France (3 inmates) and Germany (2).

At its roots, 287 (g) is a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act passed in 1995 that allows state and local law enforcement agencies to be trained to identify illegal immigrants and turn them over to federal authorities.

Source: Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department

Vol. 41, No. 55

Kenerly ousts self from BOC Embattled commissioner takes leave amid protests

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — A month after boldly claiming to continue service, Commissioner Kevin Kenerly stepped aside Tuesday, voluntarily suspending himself during his last two months in office.

After a yearlong special grand jury investigation into county land purchases, an indictment was unsealed, accusing Kenerly of taking a $1 million bribe and failing to disclose his ties to a developer in rezoning issues.

With the final months of his 16 Kevin years in office coming to a close, the Kenerly Braselton man said he would fight the charges and would not resign — as Chairman Charles Bannister did just weeks before.

But on Tuesday — which would have been the second to last meeting date of his tenure — Kenerly’s lawyers released a statement that he would take a voluntary suspension.

• See Kenerly, Page 12A

Budget deficit could bring library cuts

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett could cut its library budget by 15 percent and money to subsidies in half to try to make up a $47.5 million budget deficit.

Finance Director Aaron Bovos made the recommendation Tuesday but noted that even with the use of $15.8 million from a one-time second tax payment earlier this year, the county is still $17 million in the hole.

The spending plan, which will be published Dec. 1 and up for a vote in January, contains only one major increase — a few staffers to support a state law requiring that every property owner receive an assessment notice each year. Bovos said recommendations from the Engage Gwinnett study team earlier this year were incorporated, and departments found about $5.7 million in voluntary reductions.

• See 287 (g), Page 9A • See Cuts, Page 9A

Tucker crematory gets board approval

Welcome reception Lanier students surprised by Falcons visit

BY CAROLE TOWNSEND Staff Correspondent

BUFORD

—

Thirty

the school to share a Thanksgiving meal with the students and to write short essays describing

BY CAMIE YOUNG @

to Bill Head Funeral Home brought hundreds of people from the community,

SENIOR WRITER camie.young i d il

Number of foreign-born inmates arrested in the last four years.

15,333

13,151

14,054 11,044

2007

2008

2009

were from Mexico. A handful came from westernized European countries like France (3 inmates) and Germany (2).

Big changes could be on the horizon for 287 (g).

Conway said he is considering applying in 2011 to operate the program in the “task force model.” ICE authorizes participating jurisdictions to employ a jail enforcement model (which Gwinnett uses now), a task force model or a combination of the two.

2010

Under the task force model, 287 (g) officers would identify and process removable aliens in community settings. They would do so during regular duties as patrol officers, detectives or criminal investigators.

A move like that is likely to draw the ire of opposition groups, the same immigrant rights supporters who staged Gwinnett rallies and summits decrying 287 (g) months before its activation.

— By Josh Green

THE HEADLINES: DRUG CARTELS w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES A tip in November led police to an unassuming Norcross home in a quiet subdivision that housed the largest methamphetamine laboratory confiscated in United States history, officials said. The 1,000pound bust worth an estimated $44 million represented paydirt for law enforcement in the pushback against the drug pipelines of Mexican cartels; officials cautioned the bust was hardly a panacea, and that the number of similar operations in the county, if any, was unknown.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The drug trade added a tragic local dimension when three children — ages 18 months to 4 —

Prep football players battle through injuries as season progresses.

ROCK SOLID, 1B

Archer outlasts younger Longhorns.

Joseph Doyague a steady performer for Eagles.

75¢

75¢

Mosque hearing delayed

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©2010 SCNI

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BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green @gwinnettdailypost.com

BY HEATH HAMACHER STAFF WRITER heath.hamacher@gwinnettdailypost.com

LILBURN — Thursday night, Lilburn City Hall was abuzz with people on both sides of the proposed rezoning that would allow an elaborate mosque to be built near U.S. Highway 29 and Hood Road.

Because this Planning and Zoning Commission hearing will apparently require a bigger venue, it was postponed.

But Lilburn residents, clearly emotional, managed to hold several mini-debates — often in loud tones — before finally dispersing.

“That’s not fair!” was the chant from Muslims when the hearing was canceled.

“You are wasting our time!” one man shouted.

“We want the meeting now,” yelled another.

• See Mosque, Page 10A

Mom recalls suspected Target killer as ‘strange’

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com Staff Photos: Jason Braverman

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, among other law officials, announces the arrest of 31 defendants in the county as part of Project Coronado, a nationwide operation that targeted the distribution network of a Mexican drug trafficking organization known as “La Familia Michoacana.”

METHLABLOCATED A total of 174 pounds were seized during a drug bust at the home at 1440 La Maison Drive in Lawrenceville.

HAMILTON MILL GOLF CLUB

Location of meth lab — 1440 La Maison Drive in Lawrenceville

A fully operational methamphetamine conversion laboratory was busted in this home at 1440 La Mai-

tain

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• See Bust, Page 6A COMING SUNDAY The impact meth has on medical, prison systems ON THE WEB

died from burn and smoke injuries they suffered in a Feb. 17 meth lab fire, officials said.

Again, the lab operated on a quiet residential street, this time near Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn. In the larger bust a few months prior, officials described the home as a “powder keg,” capable of literally exploding; a daycare operated down the street.

That bust nearly tripled a 350pound meth find at two Duluth homes in May 2009 that authorities called the largest recorded in the eastern United States. That takedown and several other highprofile operations have fueled Gwinnett’s reputation as a drug pipeline.

“The big difference between 2005 and now is the cases have gotten much bigger, in terms of the size of the product,” District Attorney Danny Porter said recently.

“It’s ironic ... we’re not really seeing an increase in meth usage in schools. That continues to reinforce my idea that (Gwinnett) is a transshipment point. A lot of this dope is moving through Gwinnett, but not a lot more than we ever had is staying here.”

Porter said progress by his

©2011 SCNI

$44M of meth seized

Raid turns up 174 pounds of meth at Lawrenceville home

LAWRENCEVILLE — Elena Rostas paid little attention to the white, twostory house a few doors down on Lawrenceville’s La Maison Drive.

Some nights she caught a “weird” smell wafting from the home’s direction, something pungent like gasoline. And it seemed odd that a red semitrailer was parked outside the home for several days recently, she said.

Other than that, nothing fishy, she said.

Situated around a bend in the Royal Terrace subdivision, the unassuming abode housed one of the largest, most complex methamphetamine conversion laboratories federal authorizes have uncovered in the United States, officials said Thursday.

The only thing missing from the docile front, said Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter, “was a white picket fence.”

Gwinnett became ground zero this week in the largest takedown operation targeting a Mexican drug cartel in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Lawrenceville home — where a reported 174 pounds of meth were found Wednesday — was the national epicenter, providing links to operations in cities as far as Los Angeles.

Rostas, a mother of 12, found news of the raid disconcerting.

“To me, it’s pretty scary,” she said, a fussy child at her side. “It’s a quiet neighborhood.

Maybe that’s why they chose it.”

Bingo, authorities said at a press conference.

The bust and others like it nationwide were the result of an initiative called Project Coronado, leading to 31 arrests of suspect traffickers in Gwinnett alone Wednesday. Along

FRIDAY February 4, 2011

Vol. 41, No. 67

Vol. 40, No. 34

Historic drug bust

Bigger venue needed as residents flood city hall

LAWRENCEVILLE — Mary Allen recalls the woman accused of killing her daughter as peculiar, reclusive and anxious — a direct contrast to her bubbly daughter, she said.

Allen is the mother of Heather Strube, the 25-year-old Conyers resident gunned down in front of her infant Joanna son in a Target parkHayes ing lot in April.

A multi-agency investigation led to the arrest Wednesday of Strube’s mother-in-law and longtime suspect, Joanna Hayes. She was apprehended in Luthersville, the Meriwether County town south of Atlanta where she’d been living since at least 2007, court records show.

Allen hinted that more suspects could be named and balked at saying

75¢

WEDNESDAY December 1, 2010

FRIDAY October 23, 2009 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

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KEY PLAYERS Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; all Gwinnett and metro Atlanta law enforcement, especially those with ties to the Atlanta HIDTA Program, a unified front among police and federal officials against drug-traffickers.

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

COURT BATTLE, 1B

TOUGH MINDED, 1C

rn bu Au

THE HISTORY Drug-trafficking first showed a local spike in 2005, when drug arrests reached a peak of 1,600 defendants. The years between have held steady or shown moderate declines. Last year saw 1,530 defendants, according to the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office.

DECEMBER 1, 2010

OCTOBER 23, 2009

Lawrenceville PD tops list for seizure disbursements

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photos: Jonathan Phillips

Ekram Powtik walks past the remains of her sister’s house in the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford after a storm on Tuesday. Almost all of the homes within the neighborhood suffered damage with one being completely destroyed. According to officials, no one suffered injuries.

NORCROSS — Another nondescript house. Another quiet neighborhood.

Another gargantuan methamphetamine takedown with the fingerprints of Mexican cartels all over it.

Authorities seized nearly 1,000 pounds of meth worth more than $44 million in an overnight lab dissection that’s being called one of the largest confiscations on record in • See Meth, Page 7A

Wicked winds 56 houses damaged by storm

BY TYLER ESTEP

Andrea McKnight holds onto her two daughters, Madison, left, and Taylor, right, as they survey the damage to their home in the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford after a storm carved a path of destruction on Tuesday. One of McKnight's sons was at their home of eight years before the storm tore part of the roof off of it.

ON THE WEB For a slide show, visit www.gwinnettdailypost.com.

the others, officials said.

Anthony’s mother, Andrea, was picking up his four siblings at school when the storm struck. Their home suffered extensive damage, one side partially torn off, most of the

“It’s horrifying. You see things like this on TV and you never think it happens to you,” she said. “But when you come into your neighborhood and see all this and then you see your house, it’s horrifying.”

No injuries or deaths were reported as scores of Gwinnett County emergency

Police: Man tried to sell immigrant

BY TYLER ESTEP

BUFORD STORM

STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

A suspected tornado touched down in the Kirkstone subdivision in Buford on Tuesday afternoon.

Gra ve lS prin gs

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Mall of Georgia

I-85

Staff Photos: Jonathan Phillips

Gwinnett County firefighters put out a hot spot in the remains of one of the buildings in the Spaulding Hills apartment complex Thursday. Sixteen families have been displaced due to the early morning blaze that started shortly before 6 a.m. No one was injured in the fire.

ATLANTA — The Lawrenceville Police Department continues to benefit from the silver lining of heavy cartel involvement in metro Atlanta — seized drug assets.

At DEA Atlanta’s headquarters Thursday morning, the department of about 70 officers received more than $2 million in drug-forfeiture proceeds, the fruits of a two-year cartel investigation dubbed “Operation Four Horsemen.”

The crackdown targeted two Mexico-based drug cells in metro Atlanta, resulting in 23 • See Cartels, Page 8A

‘A total loss’ Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration Rodney Benson speaks Tuesday on the 933 pounds of crystal meth and meth oil that were seized from a Norcross residence during a raid Monday night. The street value of the seizure is close to $44 million and is one of the largest seizures in U.S. history.

STAFF WRITER tyler.estep @gwinnettdailypost.com

BUFORD — Fifteen-yearold Anthony McKnight was home alone when it happened.

“It got dark and it started thundering. I thought it was just going to pass,” the Mountain View High School freshman said. “All of a sudden a whole bunch of leaves and parts of the ceiling just started blowing everywhere. I just found a place to hide until it passed.”

“I was just hoping the house didn’t come in and I would survive.”

As wicked weather covered all of Gwinnett and much of Georgia on Tuesday afternoon, the Kirkstone subdivision became the epicenter. A tornado is believed to have touched down in the neighborhood off Gravel Springs Road near the Mall of Georgia about 3:30 p.m., completely destroying one home and d i “h j i ” f

Vol. 41, No. 123

Local cops receive $2M from cartels

Massive haul among biggest in U.S. history

Bufor d Dr ive

THE STORY Over several years, Gwinnett County has become as a key destination for Mexican cartels and other drug-traffickers attracted by the area’s highway system, growing immigrant population and plentiful, nondescript housing. Cartels manufacture and move huge quantities of meth, cocaine and other drugs to the Eastern Seaboard via Gwinnett and other suburban counties. The drugs, or components of them, are smuggled in the country with the intent of using metro Atlanta as a springboard to other dense urban populations.

A Norcross man was arrested in Alabama last week for attempting to sell a Honduran immigrant to a restaurant there.

According to Florence, Ala. police, 49year-old Ming Zhang transported the unidentified man from Atlanta to the city in northwest Alabama with intent to sell him to a local restaurant as a laborer.

When the 25-year-old victim realized what was going on, he called police.

“He was approached and offered a job,” Florence police Det. Justin Wright said Tuesday. “He thought he was coming here

office, local police and federal authorities is difficult to characterize, as it’s hard to calculate how saturated Gwinnett communities are with drugs.

“Based on intelligence from our ongoing investigations, and based on the number of cases we work in conjunction with (federal officials), we seem to have make the climate in Gwinnett more uncomfortable (for cartels),” he said. “Have we eradicated meth from Gwinnett?

Obviously, we haven’t. It continues to be a priority of my office.”

One difficulty, Porter said, is that cartels have a vast supply of foreclosed and for-rent homes to

16 families displaced in complex fire

INSIDE TODAY

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Lawrenceville Police Chief Randy Johnson speaks during a press conference at the Drug Enforcement Agency in Atlanta today as Special Agent In Charge Rodney Benson, center, and United States Attorney Sally Yates look on.

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

DORAVILLE — The 16 families who lost their homes when a fire gutted the Spaulding Hills apartment complex in Doraville on Thursday morning have been given places to stay, management said.

The blaze, reported just before 6 a.m., charred the majority of the apartment building off of Winters Chapel Road. Save for a satellite dish or two clinging on for dear life, most of the 16 units affected were a total loss.

The 25 or so displaced residents were put into vacant units in the same complex or at a sister property called Hidden Colony about four miles away, manager Teri Davis said Thursday afternoon.

“Thankfully we’ve been able to place everyone,” Davis, a regional manager with WRH Realty, said.

“Everyone’s been assigned a new apartment.”

When Gwinnett County firefighters arrived at the scene near the DeKalb County line, flames were shooting through the roof of the building, spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said. Because of the prox-

Report: County fares well in public health Gwinnett ranks No. 7 overall in state The remains of one of the buildings in the Spaulding Hills apartment complex is seen on Thursday. The 25 or so displaced residents were put into vacant units in the same complex or at a sister property.

imity to the county line, an engine from DeKalb Fire Rescue was called in for backup but not needed, he said.

An official cause still undetermined, Rutledge said fire investigators believe the blaze started in the area of a top-floor apartment in the corner of the building. Battling low water pressure, firefighters were able to bring the flames under con-

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

trol just after 7 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

“Thankfully, our maintenance supervisor lives here and he was banging on doors along with another resident,” Davis said. “They were pretty quick about it. Everyone got out and everyone was fine. No close

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett County ranks better than the state average on a check-up of key public health measurements.

Partner Up! for Public Health, a statewide advocacy campaign, unveiled the 2010 Georgia Public Health Rankings Report on Thursday.

The report consists of a database and interactive map that ranks the state’s 159 counties. Overall, Gwinnett was ranked No. 7.

• See Fire, Page 9A

• See Health, Page 8A

Ga. immigration bill requires employer checks

choose from in Gwinnett.

“What we typically see are that the only rooms furnished are the bedrooms,” he said. “They’re basically a factory.”

In terms of red flags, Porter advises the general public to keep an eye peeled for suspicious homes. Indicators can be a home with the windows completely covered; a number of unrelated visitors and people in the house, frequently coming and going; a chemical odor; and a lack of curbside trash.

“They don’t put their trash out,” he said. “They dispose of it in other ways.

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WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • 9F

THE HEADLINES: GGC LIFE SCIENCES w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY A much-needed Life Sciences Center is under construction on Gwinnett Technical College’s campus, and massive fundraising is under way to make sure the school has enough money to operate the new facility.

THE HISTORY Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels submitted her first request for funding for a life sciences building in 2005. Employment projections showed a need for more trained workers in the health and life science fields, and Bartels knew the college would need more space to meet the demand. Four years after first submitting the request, Gwinnett Tech received funding to construct its life science building.

KEY PLAYERS • Sharon Bartels, president of Gwinnett Technical College • Mary Beth Byerly, president of the Gwinnett Technical College Foundation • Delta Airlines President Ed Bastian, honorary chair of the Legacy of Lives campaign • Kim Ryan, CEO of Eastside Medical Center, and Jim McGean, retired president of Verizon Wireless, campaign co-chairs.

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES Gwinnett Technical College broke ground in April on its new Life Sciences Center.

While the school received state funding to construct the building, the Life Sciences Center will not initially receive any operational support. The critical funding need led the Gwinnett Technical College Foundation to launch the Legacy of Lives campaign to raise money to run the building once it opens in August.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The 14,000-square-foot Life Sciences Center will be devoted to health care and life sciences education, industries that are expanding and show no signs of slowing down, Bartels said.

“It’s the only industry during the recession that did not take a hit,” Bartels said. “Not only are the jobs out there, but they’re good jobs.”

The need for health care workers in Gwinnett and the surrounding area is expected to outpace the rest of Georgia and even the nation in the next five years. With the industry projected to grow by 38 percent from 2010 to 2015, the county is expected to add 8,223 new health care jobs.

The additional space will allow the • Continued on Page 11F

Rendering of future Life Sciences Center

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • 11F

THE HEADLINES: GGC LIFE SCIENCES (CONT.) w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m • From Page 9F college to admit more students into its health care and life sciences programs, good news for the thousands of qualified applicants who seek admission to these programs each year.

The new building will also allow Gwinnett Tech to add programs to its repertoire. With open heart surgery coming to the county, Gwinnett Medical Center is going to need some cardiovascular technicians, which is one of the programs that will be added.

As health care expands, Ryan said she’ll look to Gwinnett Tech for employees.

“Gwinnett Tech, through my partnership with them, does a phenomenal job first selecting students and then has phenomenal instructors to train them so that I don’t have to worry,” Ryan said, “because when I interview a student for a job at Eastside and they’ve been trained at Gwinnett Tech, I know I don’t

APRIL 23, 2010

have to worry about their technical skills and how they relate to our patients.”

Meanwhile, the Gwinnett Technical College Foundation will continue its aggressive fundraising for the center’s operations. Several large donations have been made to the Legacy of Lives campaign, including $50,000 from the Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia, but many more are needed.

“Our Legacy of Lives campaign has an impact far beyond our campus boundaries,” Bartels said. “The development of our Life Sciences Center and the expansion of our health care and life science programs will positively enhance our community and the region. Having a highly trained, skilled health care work force is critical to meet the need for health care services in our community and to combat rising costs.”

— By Heather Darenberg

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

PERFECT PLACE, 1B

Gwinnett Daily Post

C

RPI an ideal spot for Rams’ Brooke Van Baush.

Sunday November 14, 2010

community

INSIDE Check out engagements, anniversaries

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©2010 SCNI

Cycle of life Students plant trees, flower seeds

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett officials praised lawmakers Thursday for clearing the way for traffic improvements and jobs.

After a three-year stalemate, Georgia’s House and Senate passed a bill Wednesday to divide the state into regions, allowing people to vote to impose a 1 percent sales tax to fund transportation.

The issue has been the No. 1 pursuit of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce since the business organization created a public policy department in 2007.

“The bottom line for all of us to take away is that, for the first time, the state of Georgia (including metro Atlanta), has a long-term plan for truly tackling our crippling traffic congestion and deteriorating infrastructure,” Chamber President Jim Maran wrote in a letter thanking supporters and legislators. “For our economic development team, this means ‘transportation’ is no longer the big weakness it once was.

For our member employers, this means

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@ gwinnettdailypost.com

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

• See Bill, Page 9A

■ Local Obama endorses Johnson ....2A

■ Inside

Snellville Days Festival pullout

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Construction continues on the life sciences building at Gwinnett Technical College. The three-story classroom and laboratory learning facility will serve more than 3,000 students annually and will provide 78,000 square feet of innovative learning space dedicated to life sciences and health sciences professions.

Staff Photos: Jason Braverman

Chattahoochee Elementary School kindergarten teacher Debby Torak, back, helps students Jalen Hill, from left, Emily Rengifo, Keshav Parthasarathy and Angela Baron toss dirt on a tree that was planted Thursday in honor of Earth Day. The Greater Gwinnett Group of the Sierra Club members helped the students plant trees, seeds and peat pots.

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@ gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Contractors are seen here working on the life sciences building at Gwinnett Tech. Building a life sciences building was imperative because Gwinnett Tech — one of the largest schools in the Technical College System — has had to turn away 6,000 applicants interested in studying health care and life sciences in the past two years.

Alleged drunk driver fled from Snellville police before crash

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

SNELLVILLE — The suspected drunk driver who fled from Snellville police and crashed Wednesday night died in the hospital Thursday morning.

The man, who was not identified by police at the scene, is Thomas Alvis Jr., a 61-yearold Loganville man, Snellville police Chief Roy Whitehead said.

Snellville police responded to a call reporting a potential drunk driver just after 8 p.m. Wednesday and were able to stop the blue Chevrolet pickup truck at the intersection of Ga. Highway 124 and U.S. Highway 78. Alvis fled.

Chattahoochee Elementary School kindergarteners Gloria Tshibangu and Kelly Turner plant flower seeds during class on Thursday in honor of Earth Day. Gwinnett Sierra Group members helped the students plant trees, seeds and peat pots.

ROOM TO GROW

Gwinnett Tech moves forward with new life sciences building

Man, 61, dies from accident

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

According to officials, the addition of the life sciences building will mean a good chunk of Gwinnett Tech’s campus will be dedicated to training health care professionals. In all, the school will have more than 140,000 square feet of learning space devoted to health science education.

‘‘ ’’

LAWRENCEVILLE — In 2005, Gwinnett Technical College submitted its first request for funding for a life sciences building.

“We saw the writing on the wall,” said Mary Beth Byerly, Gwinnett Tech’s executive director of institutional advancement.

Employment projections showed a need for more trained workers in the health and life science fields, and Gwinnett Tech officials knew they would need more space to meet the demand.

Four years after first submitting the request, Gwinnett Tech received the funding to construct its life sciences building.

“That it will be open in calendar year 2011 is a miracle,” Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels said. “We’re very, very fortunate that we finally got it on the list. Had we not gotten a $2 million donation toward construction, we might still be sitting on the list.”

In the Technical College System of Georgia, capital project requests are placed on a priority list. Because

Two-year colleges are the vehicles for training health care workers.

Eighty-five percent of first responders are trained at community colleges.

Gwinnett Tech President

Sharon Bartels

of the limited availability of funds, only the projects deemed most critical are approved.

For Bartels, building a life sciences building was imperative because Gwinnett Tech — one of the largest schools in the Technical College System — has had to turn away 6,000 applicants interested in studying health care and life sciences in the past

two years.

“Two-year colleges are the vehicles for training health care workers,” Bartels said. “Eighty-five percent of first responders are trained at community colleges.”

With the new building, Gwinnett Tech still won’t be able to meet that demand, but it will be able to expand and add to its repertoire of science and allied health programs.

The three-story classroom and laboratory learning facility will serve more than 3,000 students annually and will provide 78,000 square feet of innovative learning space dedicated to life sciences and health sciences professions.

Byerly said the addition of the life sciences building will mean a good chunk of Gwinnett Tech’s campus will be dedicated to training health care professionals. In all, the school will have more than 140,000 square feet of learning space devoted to health science education.

“Of the top 20 fastest growing careers, 10 are in health care,” Byerly said.

“And they’re high-paying jobs.”

• See Building, Page 6C

• See Accident, Page 9A

Gwinnett Tech holds groundbreaking for center New facility to educate an extra 3,000 students

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

Mostly sunny.

Highs in the low 80s ......4A

Officials commend traffic bill Leaders celebrate passage of transportation funding

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

DULUTH — Emily Zimmerman knows why she and her classmates were helping plant a tree Thursday at Chattahoochee Elementary School.

“Because it’s Earth Day, and we’re trying to help the Earth,” the kindergartner said.

In honor of the day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment, the Greater Gwinnett Group of the Sierra Club visited the elementary school to help kindergartners plant trees and flower seeds.

“The way I look at it is if you don’t take care of the Earth, nothing else really matters,” club member Tamyra Hyatt said. “God’s given us the responsibility of stewardship for Earth. ...

Here in Gwinnett, it starts at home with the conservation and preservation of our wild spaces for future generations.”

Ibad Ansari, 6, said he enjoyed planting the tree.

He also knows why Earth Day is important.

“Because you have to keep the Earth clean,” the kindergartner said.

Shannon Keller, a kindergarten parapro, said the students will get to watch the trees grow over the next five years.

“The sooner they start to learn about the environment and how the whole cycle works, the better chance they’ll take it into adulthood,” she said. “If you teach them when they’re little, they’re going to grasp these lessons and carry them throughout life.”

Vol. 40, No. 190

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — This year, Gwinnett Technical College had to turn away 6,000 people interested in studying health care and life sciences.

Gwinnett Tech serves 500 students through 10 health science programs. On Thursday, officials broke ground on a building that will allow the school to educate an additional 3,000 students a year.

“The Life Sciences Center is a project that will benefit both our community as well as our school,” Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels said. “... This is the beginning of a massive economic devel-

opment and community development project in our community.”

The Life Sciences Center will allow Gwinnett Tech to expand both student capacity and program offerings. When the building is complete in the fall of 2011, Gwinnett Tech will have more than 140,000 square feet of learning space devoted to health care and life sciences education.

The center will be a 78,000-squarefoot, three-story facility that will house 13 classrooms and lecture halls and 12 high-tech labs.

Ron Jackson, the commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, said it’s critical that health care and life • See Center, Page 9A

Photo: Christine Rodriguez

Gwinnett Technical College radiologic technology student Tai Le, from left, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce President Jim Maran, Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson, Technical College System of Georgia board member Michael Sullivan, Delta Airlines President Ed Bastian, Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels, state Sen. Don Balfour, Bill Brogdon and Gwinnett Tech Foundation board chair Sean Murphy shovel dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony for Gwinnett Tech’s new Life Sciences Center.

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455 Grayson Highway, Suite 300 Lawrenceville, GA 30045 770-339-4283

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8203 Hazelbrand Road Covington, GA 30014 770-786-9086

12F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: HOSPITALS w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY Gwinnett hospitals break ground on major expansions THE HISTORY Emory Eastside Medical Center is a 231-bed hospital located on a dual campus in Snellville. It employs more than 1,500 workers with 400 affiliated physicians.

Gwinnett Medical Center, founded more than 60 years ago, now includes hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth and several supporting medical facilities. It employs more than 4,100 workers with 800 affili-

ated physicians.

KEY PLAYERS • Emory Eastside Medical Center and COO Dustin Greene, Gwinnett Medical Center and CEO Phil Wolfe LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES Emory Eastside Medical Center broke ground on a new medical office building and an emergency department expansion in 2010, as well as announced future plans for a new patient tower.

• Continued on Page 13F

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • 13F

THE HEADLINES: HOSPITALS (CONT.) w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

• From Page 12F

After a lengthy planning period and some controversy, Gwinnett Medical Center finally broke ground on its Heart and Vascular Center in June.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS Emory Eastside Medical Center is quickly approaching completion of a pair of projects that will greatly expand its services, as well as nearing what it hopes will be the beginning of an even bigger undertaking.

On June 30, Snellville’s primary hospital broke ground on a new, 40,000-square-foot medical office building. Hospital officials were keeping quiet on all it would entail at the time, but Greene gave a little more insight recently.

He said the new building, Emory Eastside’s third for medical offices, will include a new hospital-based spine center, neurosurgeons, general surgeons, endocrinology and physical therapy, among other physicians.

The building, expected to be opened in May, is beginning to fill up and already “looks finished from the outside,” Greene said. Built to be expandable, the hospital is already “in the planning phase of growing the building,” he said.

Emory Eastside also broke ground on a $13-million expansion of its emergency department last June. Phase I of that project — new construction — should be finished April 11, Greene said.

Phase II will be updating the current emergency department to match new construction.

“It’s basically upgrading the entire emergency department,” Greene said. “The important thing is that when the entire project is finished, we will have 33 percent additional capacity. That will drastically shorten wait times and improve patient care.”

The next big milestone for Emory Eastside, however, comes on March 4.

That’s when the state’s decision

JUNE 17, 2010

on the hospital’s new patient tower — a 72-bed addition — is scheduled to come back. Greene is confident that his hospital’s Certificate of Need will be approved, giving it the go-ahead to begin construction.

“We fully expect approval,” he said.

Gwinnett Medical Center, meanwhile, opened its newest patient tower in September 2009. It’s now constructing an open-heart center at its Lawrenceville campus, which will eliminate Gwinnett’s status as the state’s largest county without such a facility.

Ground was broken in June, with construction originally slated to take about 18 months. It’s ahead of schedule.

“The GMC Heart and Vascular Center construction is on track and will be completed in less than a year,” GMC spokeswoman Dolores Ware said recently.

The birth of a heart center in Gwinnett wasn’t an easy one.

In January 2008, Gwinnett Medical Center sent its application for a certificate of need to state regulators. In June of that year, it was approved — but not without opposition.

Piedmont, Emory University and Emory Crawford Long hospitals in Atlanta all filed opposition, saying, among other things, that “hospitals need to perform a high number of (open heart) procedures to maintain quality.”

Following the approval of GMC’s program, all three hospitals again filed administrative appeals. The commissioner of the Department of Community Health, however, upheld the original approval.

As of January, the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation had raised $7 million toward the proposed $33 million project, Ware said.

Dr. Manfred Sandler, dubbed the “champion physician” of the openheart project, sang its praises at last year’s ground breaking.

“It will be a dream come true,” he said.

— By Tyler Estep

JUNE 27, 2010

BACK IN THE GAME, 1B

UP TO THE CHALLENGE, 1B

Defenseman Youngclaus signed for 2010-11 Gladiators season.

Suwanee’s Curry trains for triathlon while preparing to move to Africa 75¢ $2.00

THURSDAY June 17, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 40, No. 237

Obama says BP agrees to $20B fund Company’s chairman apologizes for worst environmental accident in nation’s history

BY BEN FELLER

British company’s chairman apologized to America for the worst environmental accident in the nation’s history.

BP is suspending its dividends to shareholders to help pay for the costs, said chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg.

Obama announced the agree-

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and BP reached agreement Wednesday on a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the giant

ment after a four-hour meeting with BP officials. He also said the company had agreed to set up a separate $100 million fund to compensate oil rig workers laid off as a result of his six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. ‘‘The structure we are estab-

lishing today is an important step toward making the people of the Gulf Coast whole again, but it will not turn things around overnight,’’ Obama said. He said the vulnerable fishermen, restaurant workers and other people of the Gulf ‘‘are uppermost in the minds of all concerned. That’s who we’re doing

this work for.’’

Likewise, Svanberg, speaking for a company that has been assailed from every corner for the past two months, said, ‘‘I hear comments sometimes that large oil companies are — are greedy companies or don’t care, but that is not the case in BP. We care about the small people.’’

SUNDAY June 27, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Former Alaska governor to speak at Arena on Tuesday

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young @gwinnettdailypost.com

Sarah Palin

Police: 5 flee Snellville residence, resulting in gunfire, car crashes

Vol. 40, No. 246

Palin to focus on family at event

• See BP, Page 7A

Cops: Two shot after robbery

©2010 SCNI

DULUTH — Who better to bring to home the message

that special-needs families are just like the rest of us than the world’s most famous hockey mom?

Sarah Palin, who rose to fame in 2008 from the governor of Alaska to a vice presi-

dential nominee, will spend Tuesday in Gwinnett talking not about politics but about family.

For David Glover, a Gainesville man who began Zachariah’s Way ministry to

talk about the challenges his grandson faced even in church, Palin was the perfect person to talk about acceptance, since her youngest child Trig has Down syndrome.

Glover learned from the

short life of his grandson the struggles that parents of special-needs children endure, often alienated because people do not know how to deal with •See Palin, Page 6A

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

Mostly sunny. 40 percent chance of rain. Highs in mid-90s. Lows in lower 70s. 4A

■ Local

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

SNELLVILLE — An apparent drug-related robbery attempt in Snellville on Wednesday afternoon resulted in gunfire, a car in a ditch and two people shot, police said.

Five individuals are believed to have entered a home on the 3500 block of Spring Mesa Drive at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, in a robbery that “may have been motivated by drugs,” Gwinnett County police spokesman Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Lucero Garza, right, Umair Farooqui, Shelby Gillentine and Olivia Garuba work on a chemistry experiment during the Summer STEM Experience at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology on Wednesday. The four-day program allows incoming freshmen to get used to the greater demands of high school by giving them a taste of their coursework.

• See Shot, Page 8A

A sneak peek

Hi-Hope hits 50 years in community

Program gives freshmen exposure to classes

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Classes don’t begin until August, but incoming freshmen at Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology are already getting a taste of their curriculum.

This week, the rising ninth-graders have been participating in chemistry

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

labs, completing trigonometry problems and working cooperatively on projects.

“The first day we came here, we were already given homework,” said Constance Perkins, who just finished eighth grade at Jones Middle School.

But Perkins isn’t complaining.

Instead, the aspiring doctor said she is using the experience to figure out how to make the most of her time so she doesn’t fall behind when school resumes Aug. 9.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology is a charter school with an educational program focused on mathematics and scientific inquiry and discovery in engineering, bioscience and emerging technologies.

During their freshman year, students take classes including chemistry, physics, engineering and advanced integrated geometry — courses that aren’t

LAWRENCEVILLE — When Marie Collier’s first child was born, the then 19-year-old new mother did not know what Down syndrome meant.

She treated him just like her four other children, but when it came time for the youngster to go to school, there was nowhere for him to go.

So Collier took her son Mike Holman to Gwinnett’s first special education center,

• See Classes, Page 8A

• See Hi-Hope, Page 7A

GMC breaks ground on open-heart facility Addition to center expected to take 18 months

BY TYLER ESTEP

Highs in the upper 90s...4A Editor’s note: Due to transportation difficulties of the Gwinnett Daily Post’s Legal Advertising section, only a portion of the scheduled Thursday Legal pages are published in today’s edition. The remaining Legal Advertising pages will be distributed in the Friday edition.

INSIDE

BY CAMIE YOUNG

STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — After years of planning and a little controversy, Gwinnett Medical Center finally broke ground on its Heart & Vascular Center on Wednesday afternoon.

The 40,000-square-foot addition to the west side of GMC’s Lawrenceville campus is slated to take 18 months of construction to complete. In early 2012, Gwinnett will no longer be the largest county in the nation without an open-heart facility.

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“We’re here to celebrate the hardfought victory of bringing open heart to Gwinnett,” Charles Bannister, Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, said before 300 or so people Wednesday.

And hard-fought it was.

In January 2008, Gwinnett Medical Center sent its application for a certificate of need to state regulators.

In June of that year, it was approved — but not without opposition.

Piedmont, Emory University and Emory Crawford Long hospitals in Atlanta all filed opposition, saying, among other things, that “hospitals • See GMC, Page 8A Stocks

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Ground was broken for the Heart & Vascular Center at Gwinnett Medical Center’s Lawrenceville campus on Wednesday.

Hospital and local officials were given the chance to shovel dirt in front of the site where the 40,000-squarefoot addition to the center Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips will be built.

Delivery Problems? Your satisfaction is our number one priority. If we miss delivery of G i D il P ll i l i d i li

60 firefighters called to apartment blaze ..................3A

■ Nation Tropical weather new reason to worry in Gulf............5A

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Emory Eastside Hospital is in the process of several expansion projects including one to its emergency room department, a new medical office building and a patient tower that will increase the number of patients that the hospital can care for.

GROWING UP

■Local A look at cities’, businesses’ July 4 celebrations ..................1C

■ USA Weekend

Emory Eastside planning big expansion of Snellville campus

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

2010’s Most Caring Athlete helps out today’s youth people..Inside

SNELLVILLE — Sometimes expansion isn’t just about more space.

Officials at Emory Eastside, which will break ground on two of

three planned projects Wednesday, hope new construction will help create a new environment for Snellville’s main medical center.

“This hospital has been known in the past as a great community hospital that did a little bit of everything — and we’re growing up,” said Emory Eastside COO Dustin

Belated homecoming festive for 450 soldiers

BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

WINDER — Deep summer in the Zormat Valley of eastern Afghanistan, where high temperatures routinely nip at 130 degrees, has got nothing on Georgia summers, in the estimation of Georgia Army National Guard Sgt. Mike Brown.

Drenched in soupy air, Brown joined

INSIDE Classified..........3D Comics ............8B

Community ......1C Crossword........6D Horoscope........2E Local................ 2A

450 soldiers with the Guard’s 1/121st HHC and Echo Company for a festive welcome-home party at Winder-Barrow High School’s stadium Saturday, following a year deployment in Afghanistan. Few of 3,000 free hot dogs went to waste.

Albeit a couple months late, the ceremony and festival, organized by a support group called Operation Patriot’s •See Soldiers, Page 6A Lottery ............ 4A Obituaries ........6A Perspective ......8A Real Estate .... 1D

Stocks.............. 4A Sports ..............1B Television..........1E World&Nation ..5A

Greene.

“We’re graduating from being just a community hospital, and so we’re developing certain service lines.”

On Wednesday, the hospital will break ground on a new medical office building and an expansion of its emergency department. Still in the planning stages, a brand new

patient care tower is in the works for coming years.

“We want to be what the community needs us to be, to meet the health care and illness care needs of the community,” CEO Kim Ryan said. “Because that’s what it’s all •See Expansion, Page 6A Sgt. Mike Brown eats hot dogs on the football field at Winder-Barrow High School with his wife April, left, and daughters Rebekah, Sarah and Elisabeth on Saturday. Sgt. Brown is with the U.S. Army Georgia National Guard unit that was deployed to eastern Afghanistan for a year and honored on Saturday by members of OperaStaff Photo: Jonathan Phillips tion Patriot’s Call.

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14F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: ONLINE VERSION w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

We know you are busy.

Keeping up with major issues in your community is not always simple. The Gwinnett Daily Post’s annual Progress report, titled Last Year’s Headlines; This Year’s News is designed to give readers an in-depth and comprehensive look at major issues that will affect you this year.

Each section, from the GCPS’s Broad Prize win to the opening of new fire stations, contains vital information about what happened in the news in 2010, the key players involved and what’s in store for 2011. We’ve also included a look at the original story and the date it first ran in the paper.

We’ve also made it easier for you at gwinnettdailypost.com. Each of these analyses are available, along with links to the previous stories under the home page button, labeled Last Year’s Headlines; This Year’s News.

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • 15F

THE HEADLINES: GEORGIA FORCE w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY The Georgia Force returned to the Arena at Gwinnett Center for the first time in three years in the new, reorganized Arena Football League after relocating from Huntsville, Ala. THE HISTORY The original Force played five of their eight seasons in metro Atlanta at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, making the AFL playoffs four times.

The Force also played in Arena Bowl XIX in 2005 while a tenant at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Overall, the Force went 47-33 and averaged 10,541 fans per game in their seasons in Gwinnett.

KEY PLAYERS Coach Dean Cokinos and his staff will select his team from a training camp roster of 35 players. Among the players to watch are quarterback Bill Cundiff, receiver C.J. Johnson, defensive back Robert Durham, defensive lineman Jeff Littlejohn and former Georgia defensive lineman/linebacker Will Thompson.

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES The Force went 7-9 as the Alabama Vipers while playing at the Van Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., last season.

THIS YEAR’S NEWS Perhaps new General Manager Chris Hendley put it best when describing the new incarnation of the Force, which returns to the Arena at Gwinnett Center after a two-year hiatus.

“It’s a little new, a little old,” Hendley said. “It’s the same (team and league) name, the same game, but different folks (playing and running the league).”

With the AFL in its second season of its relaunch after the demise of the old league following the 2008 campaign, Force fans will find many things familiar from when the Force last played.

That includes some of the opponents, such as the Arizona Rattlers, San Jose SaberCats, Chicago Rush, New Orleans VooDoo, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm, Cleveland Gladiators and Philadelphia Soul, all of which were franchises in the old AFL. The new franchises include Spokane (Wash.)

Shock, Utah Blaze, Dallas Vigi-

lantes, Iowa Barnstormers, Kansas City Command, Tulsa Talons, Jacksonville Sharks, Milwaukee Mustangs and Pittsburgh Power.

However, there will be several significant differences. With the new Force franchise having relocated after playing as the Alabama Vipers last season, there is a new coach (Cokinos) who will have an almost entirely new roster of players — kicker Carlos Martinez is the only member of the training camp roster that played for the old Force.

In addition, the league schedule has been increased to 18 games, nine of which will be played at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

Hendley also says that while putting a winning product on the field is a big goal for the franchise brass, the main goal is to provide plenty of entertainment for its fans at an affordable price (season tickets begin at $59, while individual game tickets

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

AUGUST 24, 2010

STRONG WARNING • 6A

THIS ROUND OVER FOR WOODS, 3A Tiger, wife officially divorced after 9 months of turmoil.

Amid public outcries, FDA calls energy alcohol drinks ‘unsafe’

75¢

75¢

TUESDAY August 24, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Vol. 40, No. 295

THURSDAY November 18, 2010 www.gwinnettdailypost.com

©2010 SCNI

Force returns to Arena

Ex-official admits to child sex charges

Owners relocating team from Alabama

Gorman gets 4 years for asking teen to expose self

BY JOSH GREEN

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER

STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

STAFF WRITER david.friedlander@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Contractors begin taking down the two iconic water tanks along Interstate 85 that proclaimed “Success Lives Here” and “Gwinnett Is Great” on Monday morning. Officials expect to save about $100,000 in annual operating costs without the tanks. According to Lynn Smarr with the County’s Water Resources department, the contractor will cut the tanks into small pieces that will be loaded and taken to a scrap metal yard where they will likely be shredded and then shipped to a smelting facility to be melted for recycling.

The end of an era

DULUTH — The theme surrounding Monday’s news conference announcing the return of arena football to the Arena at Gwinnett Center was a combination of a return of an old tenant and a new beginning.

Gwinnett’s latest sports team will represent the return of the Arena Football League, and it will retain the name and color scheme of the Georgia Force, which called the arena home for three of its previous seven-season run from 2002-08.

However, the team with the old name and color scheme will have many dramatically new components, not the least of which will be new owners and a new AFL league structure.

“The Georgia Force is back,” Atlanta radio personality and news conference master of ceremonies • See Force, Page 8A

BY CAMIE YOUNG

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

For days, now, she has watched the construction workers dismantle the 35year-old towers, one panel at a time.

“It’s with mixed feel“It’s with mixed feelings I see it coming down,” she said. “It was not aesthetings I see it coming ically beautiful but ... I don’t know how down. It was not aesthetI’m going to recognize my exit anyically beautiful but ... I more.”

The tanks — famous for their slogans don’t know how I’m “Gwinnett is Great” and “Success Lives going to recognize my Here” — once held a total of 2 million exit anymore.” gallons of water and helped maintain water pressure for the area. But upgrades to a Norcross water pump station and a Norcross resident new 24-inch water main connecting the distribution system in the area meant the tanks were no longer needed, a press release said.

“With the recent improvements to our water system and the need to reduce after the tanks are gone, we will still be operating costs in our facilities, it makes able to say that Gwinnett is great and good sense to retire the water tanks,” Chairman Charles Bannister said. “Even • See Towers, Page 6A

Davida Baker

STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Georgia Force head coach Dean Cokinos, left, shakes hands with team president Ron Evans as he is introduced during a press conference on Monday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center announcing the team’s return to Gwinnett in 2011.

Police ID man found slain Expanded GGC returns to class from beating

■ Local Man gets 60 days for slitting cat’s throat ..6A

■ Nation

Wayne Newton concerned with future of young stars ............3A

■ Sports Bisher: Curry giving his all to Georgia State football ........2B

INSIDE

DULUTH — As Gwinnett County administrator, Glenn Stephens oversees the day-today operations of one of the largest counties in the nation.

On Wednesday, Stephens got to see what it’s like to run a school in Georgia’s largest school district. He visited Radloff Middle School as part of the Principal for a Day program, a joint venture of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and Gwinnett County Public Schools.

The program, designed to build strategic partnerships between business executives and school leaders, is in its seventh year, but this was Stephens’ first year participating.

“It’s very important that we cross-pollinate and learn what

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Patty Heitmuller, principal of Radloff Middle School, left, and Glenn Stephens, Gwinnett County administrator monitor the hallway during a class change on Wednesday morning.

takes place (at our respective organizations),” Stephens said of the county and the school system. “For us in the county, we look to the school system as one of the main drivers of economic development. ... We tell others

we have the best school system in the nation. To me, it starts at each of these schools.”

Stephens said he was impressed by what he had seen in the kids. He and principal Patty Heitmuller greeted stu-

dents as they arrived at the Meadowcreek cluster school, made an appearance on the student-produced morning announcements and visited some classrooms.

The county administrator and principal also took some time to share ideas and talk about the ways in which their jobs are similar.

“I hope that he is able to see that schools are a wonderful balance of good business and leadership practice with clients who are kids,” Heitmuller said. “As principals, we’re running small businesses but have the benefit of getting to work with students every day.”

The Principal for a Day program takes place during National Education Association’s American Education Week, which ends Friday. This year, 129 business and community leaders are participating in the Gwinnett program.

LAWRENCEVILLE — A former Lawrenceville official and community business leader serving a decade in federal prison pleaded guilty to child molestation charges in Gwinnett Superior Court this week.

William “Carter” Gorman admitted in court Monday to asking a 13-yearold girl to expose herself at his Lawrenceville residence sometime in 2007, District Attorney Danny Porter said Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Michael Clark sentenced Gorman to four years in prison on a single count of child molestation. Gorman had been indicted on an additional count in 2008, which was dropped in exchange for his plea, Porter said.

• See Gorman, Page 5A

Police nab 8 meth suspects

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

NORCROSS — Several Lawrenceville and Norcross residents were arrested for various drug-related felonies Tuesday, when Gwinnett County Police raided a pair of locations in those cities.

Police executed search warrants at locations on Samuel Drive near Beaver Ruin Road in Norcross and on Laurelton Circle near Arnold Drive in Lawrenceville on Tuesday afternoon.

While doing so, they booked at least eight suspects, most on charges of trafficking methamphetamine and many with extended criminal records.

• See Meth, Page 9A

BY DEANNA ALLEN

STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s.

Lows in the upper 60s. ..4A

Substitute teachers

BY HEATHER DARENBERG

▼

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Glenn Stephens, Gwinnett County administrator, left, serving as principal for a day at Radloff Middle School addresses a class of eighth-graders as Patty Heitmuller, principal of Radloff Middle School, looks on. Several community members participated in the principal for a day program throughout the county this week.

Community leaders get a peek in the classroom as principals for the day

Water towers, longtime landmarks, being dismantled NORCROSS — For three decades, two massive water towers along Interstate 85 have signaled that Davida Baker is nearly home.

“It just feels good,” to see the familiar relics after long trips, a signal that her Old Norcross-Tucker area home is not far away. “It was always the landmark that meant you were almost home.”

When she first moved to the area in 1978, the towers were often a blur, as she traveled down the interstate. But for the past decade or so, she and her neighbors would clock traffic by how long it would take to reach the water towers from a nearby exit.

“That was the landmark and everyone knew it and used it in their own way,” she said.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Homero Gonzales laughed at the idea of a traffic jam on the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College, but for a few minutes Monday, the college’s first day of classes, that’s what he saw.

Campus police were on site to help returning students and the college’s approximately 2,300 freshmen navigate the parking areas on a campus that has grown considerably since Gonzales, now a senior, enrolled in 2007 as part of the first class to have spent all four academic years at GGC. Since then, he has watched the campus expand — GGC added a library, a student center, set to be finished in October, and dorms this year — and enrollment numbers soar — the college surpassed the 5,000 student mark this fall.

“You can see why we have new buildings because I can’t imagine where we would have fit all these students,” the 21-year-

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BY JOSH GREEN STAFF WRITER josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

Georgia Gwinnett College third year students Nicole Harris, left, and Kiera Jackson compare schedules on the first day of class Monday at the Library and Learning Center.

old Lawrenceville resident said Monday, enjoying a mocha blast in the new Jazzman’s Cafe and Bakery adjacent to the new library. “It’s really amazing to see how large the college is now, and now we have problems with parking,” he said with a laugh.

Freshman Lamequa Purdie

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spent some time Monday afternoon in the college’s new stateof-the-art library following her sole class, an elective course in music. Quite a few students took advantage of the cool air inside the $28.3 million, 95,370• See Class, Page 8A

LILBURN — A 46-year-old Lilburn man found dead beside a home one morning last week was beaten to death, police said Monday.

Gwinnett police identified the victim found in the side yard of a home on Nash Lee Drive as Thu Trong Tran. An autopsy has confirmed Tran died of blunt force trauma, said Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Brian Kelly.

Tran rented a room at a residence that neighbors the yard where his body was found about 11 a.m. Thursday, after police responded to a person down report. He has no family there, Kelly said.

Detectives believe a weapon was used in the attack but are withholding any other information in the ongoing investigation, Kelly said.

“They are confident that they know how he was killed and what was used,” Kelly said.

Police believe Tran was killed near the location where he was found. Responding police found a car that could be associated with Tran parked haphazardly nearby, police said. A motive has not been released.

“Detectives are currently pursuing all active and viable leads,” Kelly said.

Police urge anyone with information to call Gwinnett County police at 770-513-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS. Tipsters could be rewarded with up to $2,000.

Georgia Force seeks full community support Kenerly will receive pay during break

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER STAFF WRITER david.friedlander @gwinnettdailypost.com

DULUTH — A little less than four months remain before the Georgia Force make their return to the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

And the Arena Football League team still has plenty of work to do before that

March 13 season opener against the Tulsa Talons, not the least of which is for coach Dean Cokinos to put together a team.

However, Force president Ron Evans took an important step necessary to re-establish the team’s footprint in the community when he addressed the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce’s monthly general membership

meeting and luncheon Wednesday at the 1818 Club.

Among the messages he conveyed to the room of the county’s business and civic leaders: • The Force and the new Arena Football League, which launched earlier this year, are in it for the long haul at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, where the original Force played three of their seven

seasons.

And Evans is certain the league’s new business model is built on learning from the mistakes made during the later years of the old AFL, which disbanded following the 2008 season. The changes include lower team payrolls and a more streamlined league office.

• See Force, Page 5A

INSIDE TODAY ■ Weather

Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. Lows in the upper 30s. ..............................4A

■ Local

■ People

Gwinnett Place security gets a boost for holidays ....................................3A

Actress Eva Longoria, Tony Parker officially file for divorce ........6A

■ Sports

BY CAMIE YOUNG SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

LAWRENCEVILLE — Commissioner Kevin Kenerly’s six-week suspension will be served with pay from the county government.

Kenerly, who is accused of taking a $1 million bribe for facilitating a favorable deal with a developer in a Kevin land purchase, volunKenerly tarily stepped aside Tuesday, a day before a panel could have imposed a suspension.

Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez thinks this could be the year ....................4B

• See Kenerly, Page 9A

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FEBRUARY 8, 2011

DECEMBER 16, 2010 Gwinnett Daily Post

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sports Easily adaptable

Thursday December 16, 2010

INSIDE

6B • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

Gwinnett Daily Post’s Classifieds

Trio •From Page 1B

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File

Josh Wolff will join D.C. United after the MLS team selected him in the league’s re-entry draft.

New scene Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Offensive lineman Garrett Clark moved in from Florida this summer and made an immediate impact on North Gwinnett’s season.

Bulldogs’ Clark at home while on the move

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER STAFF WRITER david.friedlander@ gwinnettdailypost.com

LOGANVILLE — The prospect of playing college football is an exciting one to any high school football player.

But North Gwinnett’s Garrett Clark has even more reason to be excited when he heads off to the University of Southern Mississippi next fall besides taking his game to the next level.

“It’ll be good to be there four years,” the 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive lineman said prior to practicing with his team Wednesday at Grayson High School in

COUNTY ALL-STAR GAME ■ What: Rivalries of Gwinnett All-Star Game ■ When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

■ Where: Mountain View High School ■ Teams: • Head coach Mickey Conn: Archer, Berkmar, Brookwood, Collins Hill,

preparation for Saturday’s 2010 Rivalries of Gwinnett All-Star game. “I think it’s the longest I’ve ever been somewhere.”

With his family having moved around the Southeast throughout his life, Clark has always found himself to

Dacula, Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, North Gwinnett, Shiloh and Wesleyan.

• Head coach Keith Maloof: Buford, Central Gwinnett, Duluth, Hebron, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, Mountain View, Norcross, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge and South Gwinnett.

be quite adaptable — a trait which came in handy as he came into North’s program this summer.

“I think I’ve lived in 20 different houses and gone to 10 different schools,” recalled Clark, who started high school at nearby

Loganville before moving to Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla., his sophomore and junior years.

“I’ve gone to three different high schools. ... At first, it’s definitely a little hard getting comfortable with a new school and new (classmates and teammates). But it definitely gets easier after a while.”

Clark’s adaptability also came in handy from the football end of things this season.

After playing most of his career in Mainland’s pro-set offense, North’s wide-open spread offense gave him quite a different look.

•See Clark, Page 2B

All-star football coaches, players braving cold A California native who has spent most of his high school coaching career in Florida, Tim Cokely has done a pretty good job of avoiding cold weather. He couldn’t escape it this week, though.

The Greater Atlanta Christian head football coach and his Gwinnett colleagues are coaching this week in the annual Rivalries of Gwinnett All-Star Football Game, and spend close to two hours each afternoon in the frigid temperatures. A crop of more than 70 Gwinnett high school players are right there with them.

VIEWPOINTS WILL HAMMOCK SPORTS EDITOR

“I’ve gone skiing a good bit and (Monday) was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life,” Cokely said during Tuesday afternoon’s prac-

tice at Grayson, when the high was 31 degrees and the low was 14.

The coaches and players did their best to bundle up and keep moving, bouncing around more than standing still. Like them, I couldn’t feel my toes as I watched Tuesday’s practice. I thought that was bad, but every player or coach I spoke with said that Monday, with its brutal wind, was much worse. The Monday temperatures were low, a high of 32 and a low of 18, but the stiff wind made it feel like double digits as the teams practiced at

Grayson and Central Gwinnett.

By the time the sun dipped behind the visiting stands Tuesday evening at Grayson, the temperature dropped rapidly. Only Charlie Conn, the father of Grayson head coach Mickey Conn was comfortable — he was smart enough to observe from the heated press box.

Meanwhile many players caught and threw passes without gloves, hiding their hands as much as they could for warmth. The kickers

you’ve heard it 30 times, he wants to go over it 31 times.

That’s just the way he is. He strives for perfection. And he does a great job of feeling the games, knowing when to put us in no-huddle, when we should continue to run the ball.

He has a good sense of that.”

It’s as if Mularkey can make no bad calls.

His offense wears down defenses with a power running game led by 1,000-yard rusher Michael Turner and a danger-

Soccer has taken Josh Wolff all over the world and Wednesday brought another change of scenery for the former Parkview star.

The 33-year-old was selected by D.C. United in the 2010 Major League Soccer ReEntry Draft, which is essentially MLS’ version of free agency. He had played for the Kansas City Wizards, now known as Sporting KC, from 2003 to 2010 after breaking into the league from 1998 to 2002 with the Chicago Fire.

Wolff also played for 1860 Munich in Germany in 2007 and 2008, his only club experience internationally. During his career, he has made 52 appearances with the U.S. National Team, including two World Cups and one Olympics.

His latest soccer team is probably the most well-known in MLS. “I’m genuinely excited,” Wolff said Wednesday. “(D.C. United) is one of those clubs that has the most notoriety in the league. It’s certainly been one of the most successful, so it’s a good chance for me to go to a prestigious club. I certainly feel like I can still play. And I’ve got to be mindful of being a mentor and a leader for the younger guys as •See Wolff, Page 10B

Force filling out roster Arena league team signs seven offensive linemen

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER STAFF WRITER david.friedlander@gwinnettdailypost.com

ous passing attack. Matt Ryan, in his third season, is having his best year while throwing to Roddy White, who leads the NFL with 99 catches.

With Hall of Fame-bound tight end Tony Gonzalez and a line that has been together for three years, Mularkey has a variety of weapons at his disposal.

“I think he tries to be unpredictable,” Gonzalez said. “He •See Mularkey, Page 2B

•See Force, Page 2B

Sunday, 4 p.m. • Seattle • Fox/92.9-FM

ATLANTA — Mike Mularkey likes to keep his focus on the Falcons’ next game.

Receiver Michael Jenkins on Wednesday called Mularkey “meticulous.”

Atlanta’s offensive coordinator is all about the details.

He’s all about the now. Thanks in part to Mularkey’s focus, the Falcons are all about winning.

Mularkey’s offense ranks

SPORTS EDITOR will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com

With training camp less than two months away, the new Georgia Force started building its roster for the 2011 Arena Football League season with the signing of seven offensive linemen Wednesday.

To p p i n g the list are former Ole ■ Who: Georgia Miss standForce vs. Tulsa Talons out Daverin ■ When: Geralds and March 13, 4:05 p.m.

■ Where: Arena at rookie Sergio Gwinnett Center Render.

After his c o l l e g e career at Ole Miss, the 6-foot-2, 285pound Geralds spent time in NFL training camp with both the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints before eventually signing and playing the 2010 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian

FALCONS AT SEAHAWKS

fifth in the NFL in scoring and is a big reason the Falcons (112) have the NFC’s best record — and Mike Mularkey poised for a Super Bowl run.

“He’s just real meticulous with his work,” Jenkins said.

“He likes to go over everything to the finest detail. If

BY WILL HAMMOCK

•See Hammock, Page 2B

Meticulous Mularkey focuses on details THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Parkview grad Wolff headed to D.C. United

HOME OPENER

“Ryon left to go to Wesleyan and we were all devastated and I helped convince him to come back,” Lavant said. “Now we are here.”

Riggins did return, but it cost him. Georgia High School Athletic Association rules forced him to miss his junior season at North. He’s had more fun, but the understated bigman stayed patient.

“It wasn’t a fresh start, it didn’t seem like, I almost came back to the team knowing what my role was,” Riggins said.

Then came a coaching change. Longtime head man Len Garner stepped aside and one of his assistants, Zach Smith, took the reins. All three knew Smith well. He coached them on the freshman and junior varsity teams and was always around practices.

“Initially I didn’t know (what was going to happen),” Lavant said.

“When Coach Garner left I thought everything was going to fall apart, but Coach Zach sat down and talked with us and we told him we wanted to stay because we wanted to play with each other this last season. We want to do big things this year.”

Williams, the team’s leader and point guard, agrees.

“Coach Zach is a great coach and we are very comfortable with his style of play,” said Williams, who measures his words before speaking. “We knew that, as a team, we wanted him to take over as coach. The season has gone great because of the new style he brought and the hard work that he has put in to teach us and to show us.”

The players reciprocat-

ed Smith’s hard work.

Starting from the team’s loss in the playoffs to Campbell last season, workouts began. Smith forced the players into the weight room, encouraged them to shoot as much as possible and they ran and ran and ran.

“Coach was just working us and working us ever since (last season ended),” Lavant said. “We said, ‘Coach, why are you doing all of this to us right now?’ But it’s paid off.”

Their 16-6 record alone makes clear this season’s ups and downs. But an occasional loss or bad night is just a hiccup for a trio accustomed to challenges. Their friendship makes the challenges surmountable. Riggins and Williams often disagree, with Lavant playing role of mediator. It happens in practices, during games and after close battles on Xbox 360.

“One thing we wanted to do was we wanted to start together and the big thing was we wanted to finish together,” Williams said. “That was one of our main objectives because we know what we can do. We are great friends. We have a love, a passion for the game and it shows on and off the court, how close we are.”

Force name assistants, team personnel

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER STAFF WRITER david.friedlander@ gwinnettdailypost.com

Georgia Force head coach Dean Cokinos rounded out his staff with the addition of six assistant coaches and operations staff members, the Arena Football League team announced Monday.

James Clark and Juan Porter will serve as line coaches, while Willie Gary

to finish fifth in the second session that same year.

Better late than never It’s taken a while, but Jerome Cole is finally making a big impact on Brookwood’s boys basketball program.

After battling to get his grades up in the classroom, the 6-foot-1 senior guard finally became eligible to play and has given the Broncos (8-14 overall, 8-6 in Region 8-AAAAA) a spark in the backcourt.

He averaged 15 points and 3.6 assists over his first five games, during which Brookwood won three times.

Cole, whose younger brother — sophomore

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but what I am most impressed with is their overall knowledge of the game, their ability to communicate and their evaluation skills in regard to player personnel.”

Clark, Porter, Gary and Anderson all have a history in Gwinnett.

The three coaches each played or coached for the previous Force franchise when it played in the Arena at Gwinnett Center in the old Arena Football League

before it disbanded following the 2008 season.

Anderson, meanwhile, has worked for the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL from 2005-10, serving as the assistant equipment manager in 2010 and visiting team locker room assistant before that.

The Force, which return to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in the new, reorganized AFL this season, begin training camp Feb. 19.

Hoops •From Page 1B

OWNERS: PETE MCCAFFREY & GLENN JACKSON SERVICE

will coach defensive backs, Brian Struck will serve as athletic trainer, Chris Struber will serve as the director of pro player personnel and Thomas Anderson will be the team’s equipment manager.

“We are fortunate to have all ... of these men on board with us for the 2011 season,” Cokinos said in a statement released by the team Monday. “Each one brings their own unique style to the staff,

Jamaal Cole — also plays for the Brookwood, then posted a career-high 26 points in the Broncos loss to Central Gwinnett on Saturday.

And coach Daniel Bowles is hoping the senior can combine with fellow guards Thomas Higgin-

botham and Malcom Hannah to make Brookwood a legitimate threat during the region tournament.

“He’s worked really hard to get himself in position to play,” Bowles said of Cole’s work to become eligible. “I love it for the

kid. ... And he’s really helped us because people are starting to key (defensively) on Hannah, and everybody already knew about Higginbotham. We brought him off the bench at first, but now, we’re starting three guards.”

start at $10).

“One of the things we’re having is a fan advisory board,” said Hendley, who came to Atlanta with the original Force when the franchise moved from Nashville in 2002 and then worked with the Arena at Gwinnett Center when the old AFL disbanded.

“Our fans are obviously our most important clients. If they’re not happy, we’re not happy. You can’t control the outcome of the game, but if you keep them entertained, they’ll come back.

“We’ve got more competition this time with the Gwinnett Braves in town, and they do a great job with what they do. So, there’s an even better quality of (entertainment) choices for people in Gwinnett

County looking for things to do.”

Hendley added the team will try to reach out to the Gwinnett community by recognizing a Community Group of the Week and a special Faith and Family Night, the details of which are still being worked out.

And the team also plans to have many promotions and giveaways in an effort to grow its fan base, which Hendley says the teams is pleased with the size of initially.

“Our marketing campaign is just now getting started,” Hendley said.

“We’re hoping the fans come back in droves. ... We’re happy with where (the season ticket base) is without having marketed much, and we only expect that to increase.”

— By David Friedlander

16F • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 • WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM

THE HEADLINES: GWINNETT BRAVES w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE STORY The Gwinnett Braves finished their second season, and first under General Manager North Johnson, second to last in attendance in the International League.

THE HISTORY Since moving to Gwinnett in 2009, the Class AAA baseball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves has struggled to draw large crowds, especially during the week. In the team’s second season, average attendance dropped by more than 1,000 a game from 5,858 to 4,818. In 2009, another International League team, the Columbus Clippers opened a new stadium and averaged more the 9,000 people a game.

KEY PLAYERS General manager North Johnson, Gwinnett Braves new Assistant General Manager Shari Massengill and new Marketing and Promotions Manager Maggie Neil, the people of Gwinnett and surrounding counties.

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES First-year general manager Johnson did not take over official control from the outgoing Bruce Baldwin until late January and lacked any real time to implement the changes clearly desired by his hiring. In his previous post in the same position of the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Johnson set a team attendance record in his final year.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

WWW.GWINNETTDAILYPOST.COM • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2011 • 3A

B Friday September 10, 2010

sports

INSIDE Gwinnett Daily Post’s Classifieds

6-8B

KEY PLAYERS • Gwinnett County Fire Chief Bill Meyers; Gwinnett County Commissioners; county taxpayers.

Attendance falls in G-Braves’ 2nd year All Braves farm teams miss playoffs Staff Correspondent

Cards bounce back to beat Braves

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (16) watches from the bench in the the Braves’ 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Atlanta on Thursday.

Atlanta a full game behind Phillies in NL East

BY PAUL NEWBERRY The Associated Press

The Associated Press

Average, successful year for G-Braves Gwinnett fulfills top role of minor league team

ATLANTA — Colby Rasmus hit a pair of homers, Albert Pujols and Skip Schumaker also connected, and Adam Wainwright bounced back from a shaky first inning to lead the Cardinals past the slumping Atlanta Braves 11-4 on Thursday night.

The Braves, looking to turn things around after a poor road trip knocked them out of first place in the NL East, jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning. But the Cardinals rocked Jair Jurrjens for five runs in the second — capped by Schumaker’s twoout, two-run drive — and Atlanta took its sixth loss in eight games.

Rasmus went 4-for-4 and

drove in four runs, matching his career high in both categories.

Atlanta dropped a full game behind idle Philadelphia in the NL East and could miss the playoffs entirely if it doesn’t turn things around.

1 San Francisco trailed by 1 ⁄2 games in the wild-card race heading into its late game against San Diego.

The Cardinals won for just

•See Braves, Page 4B

Triple threat Tuttle trio invading Stars’ softball team as freshmen

BY BEN BEITZEL STAFF WRITER ben.beitzel@ gwinnettdailypost.com

BY BEN BEITZEL STAFF WRITER ben.beitzel@ gwinnettdailypost.com

Dave Brundage doesn’t mix words when he discusses the role of the Gwinnett Braves.

The long-time Class AAA manager loves winning, and losing wears on him, but he understands that minor league baseball is about more than division titles and playoff appearances.

“Our goal is to help the big club win,” the G-Braves manager said.

With the Atlanta Braves locked in the playoff and division chase, the Gwinnett Braves certainly did that this season. Of the 33 players on the Braves active roster, 11 players were on the G-Braves roster at some point during the past season. That number doesn’t include the players who used Coolray Field for rehabilitation or the call-up of hitting coach Jamie Dismuke for September experience.

Among the 11 are pitchers Jonny Venters who has a 1.77 ERA in 71 1/3 innings of relief and Mike Minor who is 3-0 in five starts since his late-season call-up to fill an ailing starting rotation.

Top prospect first baseman Freddie Freeman is now with Atlanta for his first taste of the big leagues as well as GBraves catcher J.C. Boscan.

But the G-Braves season wasn’t all about getting guys to the big leagues and helping the Atlanta Braves win. They finished a game above .500 thanks to a season-ending win at Charlotte and average is how the team played much of the season.

Things never truly clicked for the G-Braves. When pitchers would have strong outings, the offense would founder. If the offense put up runs, the lead often would disappear.

They stranded double-digit runners and were no-hit at home once.

the fifth time in 16 games and trail first-place Cincinnati by five games in the NL Central. The Reds lost to Colorado.

Wainwright (18-10) appeared headed for an early exit in the first. The Cardinals committed two throwing errors on one play, Jason Heyward had a run-scoring single and Derrek Lee homered for the first time with the Braves, a two-run shot.

Staff Photo: Jonathan Phillips

Brittany, left, Tayler and MacKenzie Tuttle, aside from being triplets, are freshmen starters for the Providence varsity softball team.

LILBURN — “Are we smiling?”

“No.” “We should smile. We smile. We are nice people.”

It’s a group picture and the Tuttle siblings differ in their opinion on how to appear.

Tayler is against it. She wants to look tough. It’s softball, after all. MacKenzie goes the other way.

Smiling shows their personalities. Brittany just wants to know where to stand and is more concerned about the look of her busted lip than if she should show her teeth or not. The switch hitter walks back and forth to the far side of either sibling, ready to pose.

Eventually the verdict is a series of pictures. Some with smiles. Others serious. Tayler’s smile is more of a sun-in-the-eyes squint and MacKenzie’s gameface has the look of a stifled grin. Brittany does as instructed.

A broad brush of the Tuttles would make the three out as identical sans the mirrored faces. They are triplets. They are all girls. They are all strong students. They are athletes and all three chose to pursue softball. Their matching orthodontia only adds to the perception.

Yet examine the tete-etete for the photo and the similarities fade.

The oldest, MacKenzie, concerns herself with the appearance to the family.

She doesn’t want her “ums” quoted wants people to see the Tuttles as friendly, welcoming.

“We are nice people, hello, we smile,” she says again, later.

Attendance took a substantial dip in the Gwinnett Braves’ second season, with the average crowd at Coolray Field this year falling by more than 1,000 fans as the newness wore off.

The G-Braves’ average attendance was 4,817 in 70 dates, with two openings lost because of rain. Total attendance was 337,240.

Only one of the International League’s 14 teams drew less. Charlotte, which was able to play on all of its scheduled 72 dates, had an attendance of 305,842 for an average of 4,247.

Lehigh Valley led the IL with an attendance of 645,905 for an average of 9,227. Eight teams averaged more than 7,000 fans per game.

The G-Braves drew 423,556 a year ago in their first season after moving from Richmond, averaging

5,966. They were 10th in total attendance and 12th in average per game last season.

Of the 30 Class AAA teams, Gwinnett ranked 25th in total attendance and 26th in average per date. The bottom draws in the Pacific Coast League were Colorado Springs, Nashville, Las Vegas and Portland.

Sacramento led the PCL, attracting 657,910 fans for an average of 9,137.

The unusually hot weather didn’t help Gwinnett at the gate this season and the team’s record also dropped from 81-63 to 7271. The G-Braves made the IL playoffs as the wildcard team in 2009.

Gwinnett was outdrawn substantially this season

by Richmond, which regained a team after a year’s absence and led the Class AA Eastern League with a draw of 463,842.

The team’s average crowd was 6,626.

Sammons •From Page 1B being known more for this glove and arm, he had never struggled quite like that before. His career average was .254 in the minors.

“Sometimes the game will throw you a big time snowball,” Sammons said.

“It did and I couldn’t get things turned around. It wasn’t because I stopped working, that’s for sure.

And I don’t think it affected my defense. Without that, I don’t have a job at all.”

At least Sammons finished with six hits in 22 atbats during the final week of the season.

“I think I finally started to swing the bat a little bet-

ter,” he said.

But by then J.C. Boscan, who had shared the catching duties with Sammons on the G-Braves, had been promoted to Atlanta, earning his first major league look at age 30.

With David Ross having signed a two-year contract extension to stay as McCann’s backup, the Braves don’t appear to have an opening behind the plate in the near future even if Sammons got back on track at the plate.

“It will be better next year,” said Sammons, determined to be optimistic. “I’ll be somewhere.

I’ll just wait and see what happens.”

BY GUY CURTRIGHT Staff Correspondent

It’s a good thing the Gwinnett Braves won their final game at Charlotte on Labor Day. If they hadn’t, the Atlanta minor league system wouldn’t have had a team with a winning record.

As it was, no Braves team made the playoffs and that hadn’t happened since 1990 — the year before Atlanta went from worst to first and started its run of 14 consecutive division titles.

Player development, not winning, is the priority in the minors and the Braves’ system has continued to be productive. But the lack of team success in the lower minors doesn’t bode well for Gwinnett’s success in the coming years.

Atlanta’s system had an overall record of 313-372 this season. Other than Gwinnett at 72-71, the only Braves affiliate that didn’t have a losing record was Danville of the rookie Appalachian League at 34-34.

Atlanta’s two Class A teams struggled the most, with Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League going 58-83 and Rome of the South Atlantic League not much better at 59-80.

The six Braves farm teams also had a losing record in 2009, going 338-

MINOR FUTILITY Braves’ system Team, Class Record Gwinnett, AAA 72-71 Mississippi, AA 63-74 M. Beach, High A 58-82 Rome, Low A 59-80 Danville, Rookie 34-34 Gulf Coast, Rookie 27-31

348. But Gwinnett made the International League playoffs as the wild-card team and Danville won the Appalachian League championship.

In 2008, the Atlanta minor league system had a winning record at 345-337 and Mississippi won the Class AA Southern League championship.

Redmond, Carter on Team USA G-Braves starter Todd Redmond and reliever Anthony Carter, a White Sox prospect who graduated from Parkview, were named to Team USA for the Pan American Games qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico early next month.

Redmond, 25, was 3-0 last September as the U.S. won the World Cup in Europe, allowing just 11 hits in 22 innings while striking out 17 and walking one. He was 9-10 with a 4.26 ERA for the G-Braves this season

and pitched a no-hitter at Louisville. Twice he was named International League pitcher of the week.

Carter, 24, tied for the Southern League lead in saves with 22 while making the conversion from starter to reliever at Birmingham this season. The winner of 11 games each of the previous two seasons as a starter in Class A, he had a 2.58 ERA in 44 relief appearances with the Barons, striking out 55 with 16 walks in 521⁄3 innings.

Opponents hit .201.

After pitching for Team USA, Carter will head to the Arizona Fall League.

Freeman, Teheran win awards First baseman Freddie Freeman and right-hander Julio Teheran will be honored as the Braves’ minor league player and pitcher of the year during ceremonies prior to tonight’s game against St. Louis at Turner Field.

Freeman, promoted to Atlanta on Sept. 1, batted .319 for Gwinnett and led the International League in hits and extra-base hits while smacking 18 homers and driving in 87 runs. At 20, he was one of the youngest players in Class AAA. Teheran, 19, was 9-8 with a 2.59 ERA in 24

starts while making stops in Class A at Rome and Myrtle Beach and finishing the season at Class AA Mississippi, where he was involved in a combined no-hitter. The native of Columbia struck out 159 in 1422⁄3 innings and opponents batted just .208.

Barbaro Canizares, the International League batting champion with a .341 average, and Craig Kimbrel, who had 23 saves, were named the Gwinnett player and pitcher of the year.

Kimbrel joined the Braves at the end of the IL season.

Young, Timmons bound for Mexico Matt Young is headed back to play in the Mexican Pacific League this winter and he is bringing G-Braves teammate Wes Timmons with him. “I had to twist his wife’s arm,” Young said.

Young, 27, hit .300 and led the International League with 39 stolen bases this season while playing second base as well as all three outfield spots. Timmons, 31, made the AAA All-Star Game for the second straight year and finished with a .293 average and .400 on-base mark.

Timmons missed much of the last month of the season with an abdominal injury and he is scheduled to have a surgical procedure.

seen the school move from its origins in Sandy Springs to trailers to its current sprawling campus.

In this installment of “Getting to Know...” staff writer Ben Beitzel talks with Crighton about watching Wesleyan grow, her love of basketball the use

Azar’s Jolly Rancher obsession.

BB: How does one become an athletics operations coordinator?

CC: It started out as what was supposed to be three hours a day, a parttime job It never was that

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The additional three stations have reduced response times in affected coverage areas by about a third — from 12 minutes or greater to less than eight minutes in most cases, said Gwinnett County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Thomas Rutledge.

An ancillary benefit is a reduction in insurance premiums that fire officials hope most a residents will see. “Homeowners are encouraged to contact their insurance carri• Continued on Page 17F

Suwanee police spokesman Capt. Clyde Byers.

Others in the car mistook the device for a keyless entry remote at first, but later plugged it into a computer out of curiosity.

They stopped the video after realizing what it was and where it was filmed, and brought the footage

WWE’s Jerry Lawler, Freeman bobblehead top season’s promotions

BY BEN BEITZEL

appearances.

“The thing that we’ve been able to do this year versus last year is we’ve had the entire, what we call, After a season in which our offseason planning and the Gwinnett Braves’ averpreparing for the 2011 seaage attendance dipped son,” said Gwinnett Braves below 50 percent of Coolsecond-year general manray Field’s capacity and ager North Johnson. “Last placed the team in secondyear, I was just trying to get to-last in average across caught up to what was The G-Braves concluded already in place. Last year the International League, announcement was my learning curve. the Class AAA baseball that team took two days to Wednesday with a list of This year is the first real announce an increased pro- their planned giveaways, year where we are going to theme nights and celebrity be able to roll out everymotions calendar.

STAFF WRITER ben.beitzel @gwinnettdailypost.com

SEASON OPENER

• Who: Gwinnett Braves vs. Durham Bulls • When: 7 p.m. April 7 • Where: Coolray Field • Tickets: Information is available at www.gwinnettbraves.com

STONE MOUNTAIN

to Suwanee police on Friday, according to a police report.

The complainant told police both BrayboyHayes and his twin brother were in the vehicle recently, and either could have left it. She couldn’t tell which brother was pictured in the video setting up the camera, the

report states.

Byers said no additional arrests are expected, though the case remains under investigation. He said the video could date as far back as November.

Arrested Tuesday, Brayboy-Hayes remained at the Gwinnett County Jail on $22,400 bond Wednesday.

thing the way I want to do it.”

Opening weekend alone includes a T-shirt giveaway to the first 2,000 fans on April 7, opening night, an appearance by WWE hall of famer Jerry “The King” Lawler April 8, a return of

the Cowboy Monkey Rodeo on April 9 and a Golf Expo on April 11.

Overall there will be 19 theme nights, including College Night, Friday the 13th Night, Harry Potter Night and Superhero Night that includes an appearance

by Captain America.

Other giveaway include a

Freddie Freeman bobblehead on June 4, Coolray Field replica on June 18 and red, white and blue thundersticks on July 4.

The G-Braves home season begins April 7 against the Durham Bulls at 7 p.m.

For a complete list of theme nights and giveaways visit www.gwinnettbraves.com.

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We had an athletic director but he was young and we really needed someone to put in the work to get (the school into the GHSA from GISA). As a parent who volunteers here a lot, if you volunteer a lot sometimes you end up working here. I did not intend for it to be

LAST YEAR’S HEADLINES The department made history when it simultaneously opened three stations — two brand-new facilities and a relocated one — at 7 a.m. on Oct. 30. Station 18 in Hamilton Mill replaced an older station, and is said to better distribute resources with the opening of Station 29 in the Chateau Elan area. Station 30 is in Loganville.

Voter-approved SPLOST funds were used to build the stations and buy necessary emergency response vehicles.

Silver Water Court in Suwanee several months ago.

The video surfaced last week after BrayboyHayes had ridden in a car with friends and left a small camera in the vehicle.

“We think it fell out of his pocket when he got out of the car,” said

G-Braves release giveaways, theme night and stars

1555 E. PARK PLACE BLVD.

•See Tuttle, Page 4B

season, weekend and anytime tickets. Anytime tickets can be used for any game and give savings off the face value price. A minimum of 10 vouchers must be purchased but they can be used in any combination. The ticket department, Johnson said, began contacting group and season ticket holders in August with incentives to buy tickets for this season.

The team also added school day

BY JOSH GREEN Lamar STAFF WRITER Brayboyjosh.green Hayes, @gwinnettdailypost.com 18, faces t w o SUWANEE — Police felony arrested a Suwanee teen charges of this week after friends peeping Lamar found a video of him Tom for Brayboysecretly filming a young allegedly Hayes girl taking a shower, offifilming cials said. the juvenile at home on

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Getting to Know ... Carole Crighton Carole Crighton is the newly titled athletics operations coordinator at the Wesleyan School, although she has been doing the same job for the past 14 years at the Norcross private school.

The University of Georgia graduate’s daughter

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•See G-Braves, Page 4B

w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

THE HISTORY In 2009, Gwinnett County Commissioners voted against a proposed tax increase that would have funded personnel, and the stations were shuttered upon their completion. The board later revisited a tax proposal and accepted a higher millage rate, promising to open the stations.

With a more than a six-month training period, fire officials couldn’t quickly staff the new stations, so they fenced them off and gutted cooling units from air-conditioning systems to deter copper thefts.

local

GWINNETT DAILY POST • SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010 • 7B

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES

BY GUY CURTRIGHT

THE HEADLINES: FIRE STATIONS THE STORY After a financial shortfall caused a yearlong delay, the Gwinnett County Fire Department opened three stations in strategic areas in October 2010 for a total of 30 stations, bolstering one of Georgia’s largest firefighting ranks. By comparison, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department operates 20 stations.

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Gwinnett Daily Post

HWY 78

THIS YEAR’S NEWS The plan for the Gwinnett Braves when Gwinnett County courted the minor league team and the Atlanta Braves relocated it from Richmond, Va., obviously included heightened interest from Gwinnett and surrounding counties. Yet despite a big opening weekend in its first year, the crowds plummeted quickly. The team announced just two sellouts its first season and none in 2010.

Though there is no threat of the team leaving in the near future, the third year of a team in any market is when the trends begin to entrench. To combat the early apathetic attitude of Gwinnett’s fan base, Johnson and his new marketing manager, Neil, put together a much larger promotions calendar for this season that includes web coupons, buy-one-get-one tickets, free entry for children under 12, food discounts, traveling acts and giveaways.

“It’s been really, I don’t know if incredible is too strong a word,” Johnson said of the luxury of having a full offseason to prepare.

“Just being able to go through last summer and being able to better understand what the market is all about. Every market is different.”

Johnson compared the Gwinnett market to the one he worked as GM of Rancho Cucamonga in California. It’s a late arriving crowd dealing with traffic, work and often school, he said.

“Our weekends are really going to be when we draw our biggest crowds,” Johnson said.

There are also four major ticket plans, including full season, half

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games with morning start times to allow local children to attend a baseball game as part of a field trip as the school year winds down. Last year, every game, other than Sundays, started at 7 p.m.

The school-day games incorporate education into the day by showing how math, English and science are a part of every baseball game, Johnson said.

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The G-Braves also made staff changes, adding Massengill as assistant general manager and Neil as promotions manager. Johnson worked with both in other general managing stops in his career.

“There is no learning curve (in those positions), there is no misunderstanding about how we want to do things,” Johnson said.

— By Ben Beitzel

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THE HEADLINES: FIRE STATIONS w w w. g w i n n e t t d a i ly p o s t . c o m

• From Page 16F er and make them aware of the new fire station in their community,” Rutledge said.

The impact of the stations is being felt across Gwinnett, as the number of total fire engines, ladder trucks and medical personnel has been upped, Rutledge said.

“The addition ... has greatly enhanced the fire and emergency

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Ready for action

Vol. 41, No. 30

Gas prices up but will hold steady

BY DEANNA ALLEN STAFF WRITER deanna.allen@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

County officials are preparing to open three fire stations, including No. 30 located off Ozora Road in Loganville, that have sat empty for a year. After training firefighters, they are set to open the stations Nov. 1, a year after they were built.

LAWRENCEVILLE — As a local business owner driving from place to place at least two days a week purchasing supplies for her restaurant, Darcey McGinnis is well aware of gas prices.

And the business-related travel is in addition to her almost daily commute from Winder to Lawrenceville and back.

So when prices at the pump increase, even just a few cents, she notices.

McGinnis paid $2.63 a gallon for regular unleaded gas at the QuikTrip service station off Riverside Parkway in Lawrenceville on Monday. That price was about a five-cent increase

County set to open three new fire stations

BY CAMIE YOUNG

LAWRENCEVILLE — The fire engines have been on the road for a year, but three county fire stations have sat empty.

Finally, though, the fences around Gwinnett’s new fire stations 18, 29 and 30 have come down, and the furniture has mostly been loaded in. Next week, one of the largest recruit classes ever will graduate, and 66 newly trained firefighters will be deployed into the community.

A year after officials had worried that the economy would bring an end to the expansion of one of Georgia’s largest firefighting ranks, they are preparing to celebrate the new stations in Hamilton Mill, Chateau Elan and Loganville.

“For us, it is certainly an exciting time, a historic time for our department,” said Capt. Thomas Rutledge, a spokesman for Gwinnett’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services. “Our goal is to be able to decrease our response time. Being able to add stations and equipment will certainly allow us to do that.”

For communities far away from fire stations, the openings mean reductions in insurance premiums by as much as 50 percent. But the benefits are even greater if tragedy strikes.

“The opening of the new fire stations will have a tremendous, positive impact on the citizens of Gwinnett County, both now and for many decades to come,” Fire Chief Bill Myers said.

“Having a fire station in the area with trained emergency personnel is a winwin situation for everybody.”

A year ago, the stations were shuttered as soon as they were completed, after commissioners voted against a proposed tax increase that would have

•See Gas, Page 6A

Shooting victim was Texan roofer

SENIOR WRITER camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com

BY TYLER ESTEP STAFF WRITER tyler.estep@gwinnettdailypost.com

Staff Photo: Jason Braverman

A sign in the window at fire station No. 30 informs visitors that the station is not currently open. The station had sat vacant for a year and is set to open Nov. 1.

‘‘ ’’ We would not be able to open these stations without the support of our citizens, our commissioners and our county administrator. They have made public safety a priority.

Spokesman for Gwinnett’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services

Capt. Thomas Rutledge

funded personnel. But then in December, the board revisited a tax proposal and this time accepted a higher millage rate, promising to open the stations and replace police officers.

With a more than a six-month training period, firefighters couldn’t quickly open the new stations, so they leased

fences to the tune of about $2,000 a piece and took the cooling units out of air conditioning systems to deter copper thefts.

“We wanted to protect our citizens’ investment,” Rutledge said, adding that

•See Stations, Page 6A

DULUTH — Police have released more information regarding Friday night’s brutal fatal shooting at a Duluth extended stay hotel.

Gwinnett County police responded to the Residence Inn at 1760 Pineland Road at approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday, finding the man they’ve now identified as 73-year-old Peter Daley deceased in the parking lot with significant head trauma.

Given the Houston resident’s age and other factors, investigators originally believed the death may have been a falling accident. A subsequent autopsy by the medical exmainer’s office, however, revealed a single gunshot wound to the back of Daley’s head.

“Initially, it appeared that he may have stood up abruptly, impacting his head upon a fixture of his vehicle,” Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Brian Kelly said Monday.

Daley was a regular at that hotel, frequently traveling to the area for his roofing business, Kelly said.

He was reportedly “very well liked and very familiar to hotel employees.”

The exact motivation behind the crime remained under investigation Monday, but Kelly did say that there were “no immediate indications” of robbery.

Police said earlier that suicide was not believed to be a factor.

There are no known witnesses to the homicide, and no current suspects, officials said.

Anyone with information regarding Daley’s death is urged to call Gwinnett police at 770-5135300 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.

Duluth man held in jail after gun battle at his home

BY HEATHER DARENBERG STAFF WRITER heather.darenberg @gwinnettdailypost.com

Abdiel Aizprua

DULUTH — A Duluth man remained in the Gwinnett County jail Monday on charges that he shot two men who attended a party at his

house over the weekend.

Abdiel Alberto Aizprua was being held without bond on a felony charge of aggravated assault and a felony charge of aggravated battery, jail records show.

An initial police investigation indicated Aizprua got into an argument with party

attendee Kevin Anderson, 25, of Lawrenceville. The dispute escalated into a gun battle, and Anderson was shot in the arm, police said. Aizprua was not injured.

Another guest, however, was also shot during the incident. Lawrenceville resident Harry Cokely, 34, was

wounded in the back, police said.

Gwinnett County police responded to the scene about 1:45 a.m. Sunday and found Cokely in critical condition.

Cokely and Anderson were both transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.

On Monday, police said Cokely is expected to survive his injuries.

The incident happened in a house on the 4400 block of Hopkins Lake Drive. That street runs off of Hopkins Mill Road, which runs between Old Norcross Road and Satellite Boulevard.

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medical response capabilities of the department,” he said.

The department graduated one of the largest recruiting classes in history (more than 60) last fall to help staff the stations and fill retirement vacancies; more are expected to graduate this month, Rutledge said.

2011 marks the department’s 40year anniversary — a timespan that’s seen it swell from a single station with 10 personnel, to a firefighting force of 844 personnel at 30 stations that responds to more than 60,000 emergency incidents annually.

In the last decade, the department has added seven stations and more than 300 authorized personnel positions. The department opened its own fire training center in the early ’80s, and integrated ambulance services from the hospital system a few years later, Rutledge said.

Rutledge said the continued expansions are the result of a key objective: To heighten the sense of security among the general populace.

The additions have “allowed the department to continue to meet the demands of a diverse and growing population,” he said. “The stations were built with expansion in mind, and will serve the citizens of Gwinnett County for many decades to come.”

— By Josh Green

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