Happy New Year

Happy New Year
and I really hope that 2008 brings a lot of joy and happiness into your life!

Grayson coach resigns after sexual assault accusations

Marcus Lancaster, a 23 year old Social Studies teacher and coach at Grayson High School, has resigned following accusations of sexual assault on a student.

AJC Story here

(this is a recent post on www.graysonblog.blogspot.com - be sure to add it to your Favorites if you want to keep up to date on Grayson GA news)

Thinking about losing weight .... ?

I have been working on losing weight - I want to lose about 45 more, I've lost about 5 so far, and I found this great site - TOTALLY FREE - and I think it's incredible.

Even during the sign-up process, I knew this was different than anything I'd ever used online like this before. You get points for doing certain things, like logging your exercise, setting up your goals, and you earn virtual trophies and awards for meeting your weight loss goals, etc.

Check it out and join me....

With the same Username, I also have a blog that I am using to journal my progress (or lack thereof), it's http://weight-loser.blogspot.com

I think SparkPeople.com is even a good tool for those who are at their right weight to stay that way and have sound nutrition. Here's my SparkPeople page.

Snellville For Sale Listings

I added a new link to the right side of the blog last week, and I forgot to tell you about it (bad me!)

If you look under "For Sale" you will see a link for Snellville Craigslist Listings.

I looked up almost every category of for sale items on Craigslist, using Snellville as a search term.
So now, if you want furniture, but you want to buy it from someone in Snellville, all you'll need to do is click the Furniture link.

You'll find everything from Snellville garage sales, to jewelry, to gifts and collectibles. Even people who want to barter. So go forth and spend joyously.

Gwinnett through the photographer's lens

Luanne Dietz, a photo journalist for the Gwinnett Daily Post, has a blog of some of her local photos that you might find interesting. Her blog is called Shutter Vision.

Some of her recent posts and photos include the Justin Gaines Fundraiser at Urban Flats, the empty soldier's boots at the recent exhibit near City Hall, and Christmas lights.

Her photos inspire me to use my camera more.

Video shows how Kindle works

I wish my kids could be using the Kindle to hold all their school books, instead of having to lug around 80 pound bookbags!

re Kindle your love for books

Have you heard about this new product from Amazon called Kindle? It's an electronic book - actually, a TON of books can be stored in it.

In the years I worked for Waldenbooks (1985-1996) there was a lot of talk in the publishing industry about how people in the future would read books on the computer.

Those of us who like to read in bed and the book purists felt that that would never happen - that some people would like reading on the computer, but for a lot of us it wouldn't be convenient. There's just something really nice about being able to lie in bed and read, and you can't do that with a computer! (or so we thought.) We could be a bit of the literary snobs, even at Waldenbooks ;)

Now with this Kindle, people can read in bed and yet have incredible amounts of information at their fingertips. It even has wireless capability, so readers can enjoy blogs with it too! Just amazing.

Check out the Product Overview...it's mind blowing:

• Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
• Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
• More than 90,000 books available, including more than 95 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
• New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
• Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
• Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
• Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
• Holds over 200 titles.
• Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
• No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
• Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
• Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable
  

Although at first, $400 seems like a lot of money for it, those who buy and read a lot of books will probably find it very affordable, because bestsellers that are in the $20-$35 range are only $10 to be put in the Kindle. That's just the books - lots of magazines and newspapers are also auto-delivered, and for people who really read all that, the price is a bargain.

I'm surprised there hasn't been more coverage of this product. Amazon is currently sold out and they recommend pre-ordering to reserve your place in line. The good thing about Amazon is, they won't charge your credit card until the product is actually shipped to you.

Do you know anyone who has one?

What they oughta do is come out with a Kindle holder for the handlebar of the Segway. That would be sweeeeet...until we ride into a fire hydrant.

The Christmas Portraits

I was finally able to take some time to post and write about some of the portraits I did for clients at Christmastime.

Here are a few I did, and there is even more I just haven't had time to post yet, and some that I think are probably too personal to my clients to share. I am actually a bit shocked at how much I have been able to accomplish recently.

It was a real uphill struggle sometimes, in between my 4 kids, being sick, and doing the artwork, but I made it through. Well I am getting tired out just thinking about it all. So without further ado, here are the links to the newest art.

Sketch style portraits of children

Couple portrait
This one was done as a Christmas gift, but couple portraits make really nice Valentine's Day gifts. Some guys even use portraits as a smooth way to propose.

Grandparents with their 7 Grandchildren

Little girl pencil portrait
When they're buck nekkid, I have to work up some clothing out of my head.

Getting Rid of the Christmas Tree

If you've had your Christmas tree up for awhile, then the pesky needles are probably falling off and stabbing your feet. It was so fun and festive to bring it home, but now it's just a pain in the patootie. It will be time to get rid of it soon. But how?

You can recycle your Christmas tree in Snellville at the following locations:

• Fire Station 6, 3890 Johnson Drive, Snellville
  

• Fire Station 12, 2815 Lenora Church Road, Snellville
  

• Briscoe Park - Soccer Parking Lot.

We didn't get a real tree this year - I just had the 3-1/2 foot thing, so all I have to do is slide it back into the K-Mart box it came in and chuck it out into my garage. How festive!

Snellville Trash Talk

Hee hee hee, it cracks me up when I title a blog post as 'trash talk' and you clicked on it because you thought it would be gossip. Shame on you, and you, and even you! Tsk tsk, I expected it of the others but I thought you were so nice.

Anyhoo, this is what a blue Snellville trash bag looks like.

If you have too much trash to fit in your trash can, do not just pile it on top of the trash can. If the Robertson guys are feeling charitable toward you, when they see you running out to the curb half dressed in the rain, in your socks, on trash day morning - because you forgot to put the trash out the night before, they might have mercy on you and take your trash, and even your extra bits. But please, Chief Whitehead asks for you to keep your personal extra bits covered.

But, for most times that you have extra trash to discard, you will need to purchase (AKA buy, spend money...I know, shocker that it's me saying that!) The concept seems really weird at first, but I do think it's a great idea when you understand it better.

I explained it to my dad (rest in peace) as
"it's like postage for your trash."

My dad responded how I expected he would:
"that's the most asinine thing I've ever heard in my life!"

But here's how I look at it, it's like a tax that's only paid by the people who use the extra service.
Maybe it would be easier for the City of Snellville to charge every homeowner a higher fee for trash pickup, and forget about the blue bags, eh? But think about it! Even if you do buy these bags on occasion, it's probably still much less going out of our pockets over time. We are only paying it if we need it and use it.

Now, you folks on Pharrs Road, I need to talk to you. I was driving on Pharrs today and y'all have all kinds of junk piled up - on top of, and beside your trash cans, in all sorts of wrappers, boxes, etc. I never saw a Snellville blue trash bag. Naughty naughty naughty! You are not special because you live between Grayson Parkway and Scenic Highway you know. Yes, we're all jealous of you but you need to follow the rules here just like all the rest of us. So behave.

PS: Has anyone else wondered why there are Stars of David (hexagram) in the old Snellville crest/logo (as you can see on these bags?) If I find out, I'll post it.

Difficult Christmas for Justin Gaines' Family

» Tough Christmas for Missing Teen's Family
WXIA-TV - Atlanta,GA,USA
He misses his younger brother, Justin Gaines, who's been missing now for nearly two months. His absence is felt hardest by his parents Steven and Erika Wilson...

"Every day is harder. New Year's is going to be hard because it will be two months that he hasn't been home if he doesn't come home before then," said his mother.

Justin Gaines Missing Person

I haven't written much about Justin Gaines lately, and that's unfortunately because there hasn't been any news. It breaks my heart that there couldn't be any closure by Christmas for his family.

Back on November 27th, I felt that perhaps Justin was just 'laying low,' wanting the warrant issue to blow over (not that it would, but that's the way teenagers tend to think.) But now, I am definitely having the feeling that his disappearance is something awful. I don't want to think that way. I hate to lose hope, and I hope I am completely wrong on this.

If it is hard for us to not know anything, imagine the torture his family is going through.

If I hear anything, I will be sure to share it here. For more information on how you can help in the searches or in other ways, see the website that has been set up for Justin at http://justingaines.com/

Decluttering after the holidays

Our living room looks like a toy store exploded.

A lot of people use the time off during the holidays to get rid of old stuff. I have been going through clothing and old toys. Maybe you need to get some stuff out of the house too, so here's an old post from October with links to charities that will pick up your donations.

Here's an article about how to get organized after Christmas. Lord knows, we do need it!

Local blogger thinks she's special

Local News Report by Moe Ronn, research by Edie Ott

A Snellville artist and blogger has successfully tricked herself psychologically into thinking people actually care about what she writes in her blog, www.MySnellvilleBlog.com

"My post about the lighting of the Snellville Christmas Tree had all the citizens of Snellville on the edge of their seats!" the deluded woman excitedly proclaimed. In reality, only about three Snellville residents read the post, and one of those was an illiterate squirrel.

In the future, she plans such groundbreaking blog posts as: sales at Target, the length of the line at the Snellville Post Office, traffic on Highway 78/Main Street in Snellville, and getting the air ducts cleaned in her house.

"The dust level in my house is truly unbelievable," she mused, regarding her duct cleaning plans for 2008.

If you like scrapbooking ...

...then you will want to put this on your calendar.

Crop Out Diabetes is going national with coast-to-coast events on its
3rd anniversary. The Georgia (originating) location is in Covington
(Newton County).

Day: Saturday, February 2, 2008
Time: 8:30am-5:30pm
Location: Georgia Wildlife Federation, Covington GA
Benefits: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

For complete details on registration and what's included, visit their
website: www.cropoutdiabetes.org

Fix Snellville?

I found a site called FixSnellville (http://fixsnellville.com/) and was curious about it, because one of the tabs at the top reads "Contact Bruce." I wondered who Bruce was. I looked up the site and found it is registered to Bruce Garraway. I don't know who the Staff Correspondents are, but they don't write very much. The site also has a link to the Georgia Juvenile Justice Board. But that's the only link on it, other than the City of Snellville website link.

If you look up the WHOIS information for the site, you will find that Bruce Garraway is the Registrant, but the Administrator of the account is Robert Griggs (Bob Griggs) of ShoeString Solutions and TalkGwinnett.com / .net fame.

I find this surprising, because Bob Griggs was one of the main alleged disparagers of Bruce Garraway in his run for Mayor of Snellville in the TalkGwinnett Forum, called "Snellville Shenanigans." Apparently they don't take that political stuff personally. I guess that is why I couldn't run for anything, I would take things too personally.

I wonder why the site hasn't been posted to more though. Is there not enough to fix, or what?! The website url is short and memorable, but I think it sounds sort of negative.

By the way, I gently complained about the title of "Snellville Shenanigans" for that forum. I think I just came across as a dork...I wear it well.

But maybe now that I've given Bob all this publicity and these links on the blog, maybe they'll change the name of the forum just to make me happy. Politics in action. LOL

New look to the blog

I hope you will like the new colors of the blog.

These colors are certainly more relaxing, but it might be easier to fall asleep in front of the computer now. I tried a free blog template, and it was gorgeous, but it lacked usability for me, because it was xml-based and not html-based. I couldn't get everything I wanted to work well. So this is the third change to the blog.

Even though I saved the html of the blog, I lost a lot of the links etc that I had, and I am working on rebuilding them (I have them saved in a Word document, I'll just need to add them back in.) So, we'll have our links to Snellville gas prices and Snellville weather and all that good stuff back again soon.

A re-do is always nice to get a fresh start and reorder things with the reader in mind.
Any comments and suggestions are always welcome!

New Snellville Theatre

Group raising money for new Snellville theater
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
By D. AILEEN DODD Snellville will soon have another Broadway tie to brag about besides the run of third-season "American Idol" finalist Diana DeGarmo. ...

Christmas isn't about perfect

How are your Christmas preparations going?

As I write this, my boys are looking through the Christmas presents, drooling. They have been pretty good about not messing with the presents too much. We didn't put up a big tree this year, but plan to next year. We have one of those pre-lit trees that sits on a long table/dresser we have. I have a fiber optic Santa (his beard fades in and out of different colors, he's really cool) on one end of the table, and a Nativity scene on the other end of the table. It's my attempt of a balance of power between Santa and Jesus.

Santa: "ho ho ho...we meet again, Jesus."
Jesus: "This time, we finish it, Kringle!!!"

But I need to get a larger Nativity scene or a smaller Santa, because visually, Santa is much larger than Jesus - and I know kids consider size in how important someone or something is, so I really do need to get that adjusted!

Yesterday, my daughter helped me make this chocolate-vanilla swirl cheesecake. It came out great! It makes a huge 9"x13" pan, so I cut some up this morning and wrapped it up on plates to give some as small food gifts. It must be a million calories per piece. It tastes amazing, and as we know, anything that tastes great will inevitably kill us.

Today I have a client coming, and she is going to see all the mess and mayhem. I had nightmares, literally...that her visit here was a total disaster and on top of that, she hated the artwork I did for her. But the awake me knows that is ridiculous. She's been here before and if anyone doesn't understand how little kids can cause mayhem, oh well. Even if she hates the artwork, no big deal. Refund. Done. Talk about your last minute art job!

Today we will bake cookies. The whole process of making Christmas cookies shows me how far I have come.When my daughters were little and we baked cookies, it would drive me crazy when they didn't do things "right." I used to be a control freak. Now, my attitude is that the kids will make a mess, the cookies may not be perfect, but who cares. The act of making the cookies is a project, a craft, to keep kids busy and happy. The messier it is, the better. Have fun!

My daughter worked with my son to put together the gingerbread house from a kit. Failure to follow directions resulted in a caved in house. It needed to set before being decorated. An excellent lesson learned for only $9.99.

Heidi Montag melts down engagement ring; earns a virtual slap

I don't watch this show, don't know anything about it, and this has nothing to do with Snellville, but ... wow. Can you believe there are actually people like this?

I guess I just had to vent. I thought the proper thing was to return a ring to the presenter when an engagement is broken...not melt it down like scrap metal! Waaah. It wasn't her "dream ring."

VIRTUAL SLAP!!!!

Heidi melted Spencer’s engagement ring
As “Hills” fans already know, the engagement is off between Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. No shock there. But Heidi isn’t giving back the engagement ring. She recently told Us Weekly, she’s already turned the ill-fated ice into a pendant. “It wasn’t my dream ring,” Heidi told the magazine. “I don’t like what it represents. I might sell it.”

See the whole nauseating story here

Fusion Le Bistrot is no more; Firehouse Subs is yummy

UPDATE: in late 2007, I started a new site that's only about Snellville restaurants.
It's called www.SnellvilleEats.com - check it out when you have a minute...! ...and now, back to the original blog post...

-----

The other day, I actually ventured forth into the wide, wide world and breathed some outside air. That was nice. But, when I did that, I found that Fusion Le Bistrot has closed.

That was the place that had traditional Thai and French cuisine under one roof. Not being a fan of either type of cuisine, I don't know how the food was (I'm more of a Le Big Mac person) - but I can imagine that there would be a limited client base for that.

Hubs and I discussed it on several occasions. I liked to think positively, that it would be a perfect place for when the man in a couple was a big fan of Thai food, but the lady found it too spicy, so she could have the ooh la la French food and both would be happy campers. I'm sorry that that scenario didn't work out for them. I know restaurants have a hard time to make a go of it. I think a statistic on it is that 2 out of 3 restaurants close within their first year (don't quote me on it, but I think that's correct - got that info from Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - in between all the bleeeeeeps...I heard that)

A food fusion idea that I think would work well in Snellville would be a chicken and waffles joint. Sounds really weird but I think people would like it. Cardiac physicians would not. Gladys Knight has started a chain of these, called Gladys and Ron's. (there are 3 locations in the Atlanta area.)

The Hubs and I ate next door at Firehouse Subs. Firehouse, by the way, recently earned a 100 on their restaurant inspection, and the inspector had written "VERY CLEAN" across the inspection report. The food is excellent there, and if you have kids, the kids meal includes a red plastic firefighter's hat. Everybody happy!!! Check them out next time you are near the intersection of Pharr Rd and Scenic Highway (the one across the street from Publix)

70% off sale at Restaurant.com. Purchase $25 Gift Certificates for only $3.00 with coupon code GIFTS!

WARNING: Criminals posing as utility workers

There have been some incidents in Gwinnett County of people posing as utility workers - saying they need to check your gas line inside your house, etc. It's another way of home invasion, and/or scoping your house out for future crimes.

If you didn't call anyone, don't let them in. Even if they do present identification, you can call the gas company (or whoever they claim to represent) to find out if it's the real thing before you let them in your house.

More information

New Commissioned Pencil Portrait

I just posted up a new pencil portrait of a little girl. I would love your comments!
It is not as dark as the paper looks - the paper is white...I just can't seem to get good digital images of my art. It's very frustrating to know how it looks in 'person' and I can't get it to look as nice online. View Portrait

Military Boots Memorial at Snellville City Hall finds criticism

'Boots' Memorial Draws Criticism
Military.com - USA
Two rows of black military boots lined a narrow patch of grass

between the sidewalk and the road in front of

Snellville's City Hall on Dec. 20. ...

I haven't been to see the exhibit yet, but I really haven't
thought of it as being an anti-war display. I think of it as
a way to remember that each person was a person,
not just a number. They were people with families who
had names and lives - so that they will not be just
statistics in our hearts and minds. I think that the
criticisms could have been avoided by asking the
families if it would be okay for their son or daughter's
name to be used. Just the simple act of asking
shows more respect.

Here's another article from Military.com
that discusses this: LINK

Other Snellville news:

Mentoring program gives girls strength to succeed
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Jasmine Harris, 14, left, and Taylor Nelson, 13, listen during a
Diamond in the Rough program at Cannon
United Methodist Church in Snellville. ...

Three Gwinnett Residents
Duluth Weekly - Duluth,GA,USA
ATLANTA (December 21, 2007) – John Anderson and Robert Willis
of Snellville and Aubrey Mitchell of Duluth are now
certified Highway Emergency Response ...

Snellville man dies in collision

"According to Cpl. Illana Spellman, public information officer for the Gwinnett County Police Department, Christopher Pickett, 35, of Snellville, was killed when the vehicle he was a passenger in, a white 1989 Ford Thunderbird, was involved in a collision with a brown 2002 Chevrolet Blazer. The driver of the Thunderbird also sustained serious injuries as did the driver and passenger of the Blazer."

Loganville Tribune full story

Christmas card arrives 93 years late

Christmas card that was mailed December 23, 1914 finally arrives.

USA Today story

Britney Spears' 16 year old sister pregnant

Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16 year old sister of Britney Spears, has confirmed that she is pregnant.

Yahoo News Story

This has nothing to do with Snellville, except that I have two 14 year old daughters so this is very, very scary to me! I was just reading another article about Jamie Lynn about two days ago, in which she seemed very grounded, and I thought she was so different from Britney. Now there is a dent in my table from where my chin hit it when I read about this.

I know, I know, I shouldn't be so judgmental...I just hope everything will work out okay for her.

Jamie Lynn Spears is an actress, and appears in the TV Show Zoey 101. I have watched the show many times with my daughters.

Fallen Soldier Memorial Coming to Snellville City Hall Grounds

If you come to City Hall in Snellville on Thursday, you will stand amid a sea of military boots — 119 pairs, each representing a Georgia service member who has died in Iraq.

Most of the boots were collected from thrift stores and military surplus stores. A few were donated by the families of soldiers, although none of the ones in Georgia are the actual boots of the dead, Zerkel said.

AJC Story
UPDATE: this blog has a photo

(on a related note, I started a group of artists who offer no charge compassionate portraits to families who have lost a loved one in Operation Iraqi Freedom - www.SoldierPortraits.org)

Justin Gaines Fundraiser at Urban Flats Restaurant Thursday

You will need to eat somewhere tomorrow, right?!?

The owners of Urban Flats restaurant in Snellville have declared this Thursday [December 20, 2007] “Justin Gaines Day of Hope.” The business will donate all of that day's profits to help the family pay for their efforts.

"There's a mom and dad and five or six brothers and sisters who are hurting,” said owner Bob Rodgers. “We wanted to do something to benefit them."

FROM: » More Help in Search for Missing Teen
WXIA-TV - Atlanta,GA,USA
It's been well over a month now since 18-year-old Justin Gaines was captured on security video entering Wild Bill's Club in Duluth ...

Joys of Boys

I have enjoyed being the mom of twin girls, but there is something very special about being the mother of boys.

Having boys has given me the ability to say things that I would never have the opportunity to say otherwise.

Stuff like:

• "Don't hit your brother with a shoe."
• "Don't lick the floor at the mall, I don't care how shiny it is."
• "Crayons are not weapons."
  

Today as I drove my 4 year old son home from Pre-K, he told me that he loves everybody, except one kid in his class.

"Why don't you like him?" I asked.

"He calls people poo-poo heads. That's a BAD WORD Mommy, so I don't like him 'cause he use BAD WORDS!"

Account of a Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak meeting with Jim Brooks as Speaker

Jim Brooks' visit to Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak – 12/11/07

By Guest Blogger: Scott Henle
(Scott was a Past President of the Snellville Rotary Club/Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak, and is the current Club Administration Chair)

Mr. Jim Brooks, Interim City Manager of Snellville, was the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak (formerly Snellville Rotary Club) this last Tuesday morning. He was an excellent speaker, who seemed very comfortable in the spotlight. After listening to him for a few minutes, you realized that he has a wealth of experience in the public service sector. He mentioned his work with local law enforcement and state agencies, along with the FBI and other government agencies. After listening to him, I really have no idea how little ol’ Snellville snagged him for this latest tour of duty.

Within his first few phrases, you realized that this man has a great sense of humor, and one who is not afraid to poke fun at himself. He shared quite a few anecdotes with us from several of his past encounters.

Brooks, describes himself as the consummate business man and a facilitator for change. This was evidenced after sharing with us what he does on the side…he owns 28 rental properties in the Macon area. I can only imagine what goes into the upkeep for that!

He is a strong believer in a proactive government, which he described as using planning as a means to an end, rather than just the end. He paraphrased his style with…cities need to make use of what they have and know how to maximize those assets...he does not manage people, but rather the resources, and leads the people. For example, improving our city website (www.snellville.org) was one of his first steps. He mentioned that he gathered the department heads together to learn about current projects in the city…unfortunately nobody knew how many were active. So utilizing the current city software available, he compiled the list from each department and was able to build Department Projects List. Which includes 22 projects from the Administrative Department, 2 for the Parks, 15 from Planning & Development, 7 for the Police Department, and 6 from Public Works for a total of 52 open projects! (By the way all this information with detail is available on the website.)

Brooks feels his largest impact has been with the administrative staff of our city. He really likes Snellville’s current staff and mentioned they are obviously talented as they are starting to be lured away by other cities.

After I tried to pin him down and ask him how Snellville compares to other municipalities he has worked with, he laughed and mentioned that he was not going to fall into that trap. He stated that it is hard to compare cities, as everyplace has a different set of values and needs. He did mention a few challenges he sees for Snellville in the near future though:

• Hiring new city manager. Still estimated the hire as 2-3 months out, but mentioned the candidate will need to give a 3-5 year commitment to Snellville to see any real progress.

• Improving infrastructure. Estimated that there is probably $7M worth of ‘fair-price’ improvements that should be made within the city limits.

• New revenue stream. Currently 28% of the funding for city operations comes from property taxes (and he mentioned that ALL citizens should know this fact). With the proposal of HR900 before the House calling for the abolishment of ad valorem and local taxes, this would exhaust that source. Meaning the funding will have to come from somewhere else.

• Mayor & city council relationship. He stated the obvious fact that any of us here who have witnessed any local politics already know! They really just need to get along, remember who they work for, and why they hold their positions…he actually did not say that last piece, those were my own thoughts.

Brooks mentioned that he is under contract through February 13^th, but may be available for further consultation if needed. As you may know, the council is currently split on his position. I believe council members Robert Jenkins, Warren Auld, and Kelly Kautz may want to hire him, while Barb Bender, Tod Warren, and Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer want to continue the search for a replacement. I assume someone has asked him, but I do not think he wants the position. He mentioned that he was hired as INTERIM City Manager and believes that he should be here just to assist through the transition. His feelings also are if the vote was not unanimous among the elected officials, he would not want to stay…and frankly, I do not blame him. He gave me the impression he is a successful man that was hired to do a job and now after accomplishing that feat he is ready to move on. By all accounts, from what I have read (on this blog), I think by slashing our budget alone he was worth whatever we paid him.

When asked what he thinks we could do for this city, he declared that any changes here will probably need to come from the citizens. We need to get 4 to 7 movers and shakers in the community, making sure not to get more than 8; because the 8^th one will be an idiot (he said he found this out through experience, as we all chuckled). Get these people together to create a summit and give input on crucial matters. A ground swell will need to start from the citizens and once it gets large enough the government will join in and follow.

It was a pleasure to listen to Mr. Brooks, and although I have not seen him in action, I have to believe that Snellville is better off for the time he spent here. I am sure his business-like leadership, fresh perspective and new insights may have been a shock, but were much needed.

As I mentioned, speakers like Mr. Brooks come visit the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak every week. I would like to invite anyone interested in learning more about Rotary to visit our website. Here you will also be able to keep abreast of any upcoming speakers we have lined up. We meet every Tuesday morning at 7:30 for a delicious breakfast at Summit Chase Country Club.

Grayson GA will have King Holiday

Grayson to take King holiday
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
November 2007: Snellville City Council votes 6-0 to approve King Day without a plan to pay for giving employees an extra holiday ...

Rich Sullivan sounds off about Snellville LBTD laws

From Rich Sullivan's MySpace Blog:

"Snellville has no Sunday liquor by-the-drink inside the city limits. That means that if you're at Applebee's or O'Charley's watching the game (I recommend Applebee's by the way) you won't be able to have a drink. No beer. No wine. No liquor. Nothing. They are bone dry on Sunday.

Last week I invited newly reelected Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer of Snellville out to Applebee's to see what it looks like have a restaraunt with dry taps. He knows all about it. And he's with me. He wants there to be Sunday liquor by-the-drink in the city. He knows how much tax revenue could come from it. He knows that it means more money in the Snellville economy in the long run. He gets it. Councilwoman Kelly Kautz does not.

She's the one that's holding all of this up.

The Mayor told me today that if we can convince Kautz to bring this law up as a Referendum and get her to vote yes on it, the Council could call a special session and get this law changed - within a matter of 1 - 2 WEEKS!

That's right - we could get this thing turned around by Christmas!

Stay tuned for more details on this....

Will and I will be planning a Town Hall meeting soon - probably at Mellow Mushroom on 78 in the next few weeks to discuss the game plan from here.

In the meantime, if you live in Snellville or in Gwinnett and support this cause, email Kelly Kautz (kkautz@snellville.org) of the Snellville City Council and just let her know that you are in favor of Sunday liquor by-the-drink sales inside the Snellville city limits.

And be sure to stress that it's all about tax revenue and keeping the Snellville economy moving in the right direction.

Remember: the Avenue Webb Ginn could have been in the city limits of Snellville, but they went outside so that their restaraunts could pour on Sunday! That's alot of money and jobs that Snellville is missing out on because of an old, outdated law that doesn't promote good business!!!"

What do you think? Is Rich right or wrong? Post a comment...

Jessica Roth Duluth MySpace Page

If you remember Jessica Roth, she was until recently the City Planner for Snellville. Now she is the City Planner for Duluth GA.

She is using a MySpace page to get feedback from residents on what changes they would like to Duluth. She hopes the MySpace page will attract attention of teens, because getting them involved in civic matters early helps retain them as residents when they get older.

Visit the Duluth Georgia MySpace page

Lost Dogs Snellville

I found a great website today called FidoFinder.com.
People can post their lost dogs, photos, and other information.

Some even have rewards posted, for those of you who are entrepreneurial, maybe you could turn into a pet detective.

The site has lots of great tools, like a "Lost Dog" sign maker.

Here are the current lost dogs listed for Snellville

Snellville News Alerts: MLK Day, Hwy 78, Wisteria, More

MLK holiday funds held up
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
The naysayers were Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer and council members Tod Warner and Barbara Bender. The deadlock has some city leaders and residents ...

Hotel/shops plan for US 78 would expand on other work
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
By MICHAEL PEARSON When developer Emory Morsberger launched his Brookwood Village mixed-use project on US 78 near Snellville, he hoped the project would ...

What's with the bridge in the field?
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
The delays are not really related to an oversupply of housing in the Snellville area, as in some areas, he said. It is more the psychological effects of a ...

Albert Chai, 45, championed traditional Chinese dishes
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
At his Mah Jong restaurant in Snellville, Mr. Chai's fresh vegetables and perfectly prepared Chinese dishes were a hit with customers. ...

Churches offer taste of Christmases past
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
I'm happy to say that after a shopping trip to Snellville today, I heard real Christmas carols in Belk's and Linens & Things! I told the manager of Belk's ...

Gwinnett adds land to new Lee Park site
Duluth Weekly - Duluth,GA,USA
The future Lee Park is located where Five Forks Trickum Road crosses the Yellow River between Snellville and Lilburn. "This land purchase allows us to ...

More Squirrel Content Demanded by Blog Readers

By the survey, you wanted squirrels, so here's another one. I just love his fat cheeks, and how he's so intent on whatever he's munching on.

This photo is by Diane Ehrhart of Hershey Pennsylvania, so maybe he's eating a Hershey's Kiss!
If so, in the next photo, he'll have little 'X's for eyes and that'll make me sad.

Click the "Tag" word below of squirrels and you'll be able to see any blog post with squirrels in it.
Get your squirrel fix in, because I don't think I'll have any more squirrels for you until 2008.

I would love to post some Snellville Squirrel pictures though, if you can get any. We had a very tall fellow in our backyard the other day, but I didn't think to take a picture. I was too busy muttering, "woah, that's one bee-ig squirrel!"

Our freakishly warm weather

Can you believe how warm it is? It was about 78 degrees on Sunday, but I thought that was just a fluke...but it's continued to be warm! It's been about 76 today.

Really strange, isn't it?

Are you doing anything special to take advantage of the warm weather?

It sure makes it hard to "think Christmas!"

Christmas menu secrets revealed

My sister wrote me a very important email that I would like to share an excerpt of with you. She has a habit of emailing the most mundane tidbits of life. It cracks me up.

"The 2 recipes that I'll be making to add to the Christmas meal are: Ambrosia Salad and French Bean Delight. (These are our Mom's recipes that she used to make for special occasions). I thought that I would make the Ambrosia Salad Christmas morning and I would cook up the French Bean Delight a day or two a head of time."

Are you okay with this? I hope you can deal with the shocking news that she is going to cook up the French Bean Delight a day or two ahead of time. I hope it won't alter your holiday plans too much if she does that.

I won't be making French Bean Delight, or any Delight for that matter. Sounds like something I would be dumping in the trash can the next day. I don't think any of my family would eat it.

I do try to blog family friendly recipes HERE, if you have any recipes to share, please email them to me.

Puppet Show of Quality: American Kasper Puppetry Theatre

Tonight I took my 4 year old son to the Five Forks Trickum Library Branch to see the American Kasper Theatre production of Kasper and the Chrismas Present.

If you missed it, and you probably did, don't worry - you can catch another performance Thursday, December 13th at 7 pm at the Collins Hill Library Branch in Lawrenceville.

If you don't have kids, borrow someone else's kids and make sure you go. Heck, go by yourself without a kid if you have to - you will have a great time and it's paid for by the Gwinnett Library System!

The show is appropriate for anyone over age 4. Do not take children younger than 4 - it is most suitable for children PreK/Kindergarten age and up. Younger kids will get bored and will probably be disruptive. I know I was glad I didn't bring my 2 year old!

I really literally laughed out loud though, which did me a lot of good after being sick for the last couple months. It's amazing how good that can make you feel.

You can read all about the German tradition of Kasper puppetry at professional puppeteer Franklin Bunn's website, www.AmericanKasper.com

The Kasper puppetry is different from the English Punch and Judy type of puppetry. It's like German folk tales with a moral lesson. The website will explain it all to you!

"Just go, ya little stinkies pffft!" (you'll understand that after seeing the show too)

Carpet Cleaning in Snellville

When I needed my carpet cleaned before, I always dreaded calling a company to come and clean, because I was afraid I would get the old 'bait and switch' tactic.

My friend Yvonne has a family-owned carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning business, and that will not happen to you if you call her.

I can tell you, she does a great job! She has a special offer that expires in only a few days.
You will love how your home looks and how nice it smells after a thorough cleaning.
She does not use sub-contractors.

Contact Immaculate Carpet Cleaners
(770) 873-7657

Missing Person Justin Gaines to be on America's Most Wanted Tonight

The story of Justin Gaines' disappearance is going to be on America's Most Wanted tonight (Saturday December 8th) at 9 pm.

AMW Link

Fox 5 Atlanta Link to this Story

Snellville area robbery suspects captured

What the...?

Snellville used to be a sleepy little town where nothing much happened. Now I can't even take a Christmas season break from this blog without a bunch of stuff happening. What's up with that?

Police have arrested a 17 year old and an 18 year old for robberies at a Kroger (I'm not sure if it was the Centerville Kroger or actually the Snellville Kroger) and another one at Sam's Club.

Apparently they kind of 'stalked' women, watching them go into the stores and waiting to pounce on them when they came out.

The 18 year old, pictured, is Toluwanimi Ogunjonwo.
The 17 year old is Wesley Jones. Toluwanimi Ogunjonwo shows a Litchfield Road location in Snellville as his address on the arrest record.

MyFoxAtlanta full story here

The lady who was robbed outside the Kroger is a really smart lady. The news story said she threw her wallet over her head, to get the guys to chase that instead of her. That was really, really smart. Police warn us to all be aware of our environment, especially during this hectic shopping season.

Obviously these are a couple of smart young men. "If only they could use their powers for good instead of evil!!!" I cry out and lift my fist to the sky. After all, Toluwanimi is a Nigerian name that means "I belong to God." Clearly, going to jail is not what his parents intended for him.

Maybe these young men will turn their lives around after this. I hope so, but I tend to be an optimist.

Grainy Video of Justin Gaines at Wild Bills has Surfaced

Big enough news for me to break my blog-hiatus

A grainy, 10 second long video showing Justin Gaines at Wild Bill's has been found.
A private investigator hired by Justin's family located it after watching surveillance videos from the bar. It is among the last sightings of the teenager. Perhaps it will yield some clues.
WSB full story here

Video from 11Alive News
On this one, you can actually see the footage of Justin.

Fox5 News Atlanta
Shows the video and some pleas from family and friends for Justin's safe return.

http://www.justingaines.com

On a brief hiatus

I'm leaving MySnellvilleBlog for the rest of this month - don't worry, I'll be back to bore you with more stuff soon, it's just that this is 'crunch time' for my pencil portrait art business.

I am blessed to be very busy with art commissions, and of course everyone wants a portrait for a Christmas gift!

So unless some big news happens, like aliens attack Snellville City Hall, I probably won't post to this blog.

But, feel free to email me using the link on the right, with any news and information you would like to share, and I will share it when I can. Events of interest that are sent to me will be posted to the Calendar.

Second thoughts on Golden Compass

After I wrote my blog post yesterday about the The Golden Compass, I read the Christianity Today article about it, and I really had second thoughts about the books and movie, and I really didn't think it was the sort of thing I wanted my kids to see. But I also can't stand people and organizations who see conspiracy behind everything.

Today I read Dr. Jim Hunter's blog post about the Golden Compass. Dr. Hunter is a United Methodist minister in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. I feel a lot better about it now, and I might even read the book if I can find the time.

If he didn't see any hidden athiest agendas in it, then I doubt I would, and my kids definitely wouldn't! Dr. Hunter's blog post is very down-to-earth.

Snellville Residents do well in Atlanta Marathon

Congratulations to these Snellvillians who did really well in the Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving day. Here are their names and their times:

Eduardo Sosa, 3:58:48
Benson Kinyua, 4:25:39
Kevin Horton, 4:51:22;
Milt Thomas, 4:37:58
Lisa Schroeder, 4:18:03

Thanks for making me feel even more out of shape than I am.
Maybe I should use my stationary bike for more than a coat hanger.

AJC full story

Snellville Christmas tree lighting tonight

A reminder, the lighting of the Christmas tree is tonight at 7 pm on the lawn at Snellville City Hall.
See my earlier post for more details

Survey says More Squirrels

I have a blog survey on the right side of the blog - asking what you want to see more of in this blog. Two people so far have requested more squirrels. Here's a good picture I found, hope you like it too.

But seriously, please answer the survey, it'll help me know what you would rather read about on this blog.

Keep hanging in there!

Black and White Livsey Descendents travel from Snellville to Washington GA

Together, Black and White Livseys travel, back to Sen. Robert Tooms Plantation in Georgia. The Georgia Civil War Commission will hold its members meeting this Saturday,10:00 am. [this was December 1, 2007] It will be held at the Robert Toombs Plantation House, in Washington, Ga.

During the 1830's,Green H. Livsey(Lipsey), was the Overseer on Robert Toombs Plantation. Sandy Livsey was a Mulatto son, born in Wilkes County,Ga.1822. Earlier this year the white
and black Livseys desendents of these two men,became one family,in Georgia.

This Saturday,family members of both sides will travel together from Snellville to Washington Ga. to be in attendance. Company Details The Georgia Civil War Commission was created by the 1993 Georgia General Assembly. It's mandate, as spelled out in Senate Resolution 21 is "to coordinate planning, preservation, and promotion of structures, buildings, sites, and battlefields associated with this significant period of our common heritage".

The Commission is to "develop as State of Georgia Civil War Sites Heritage plan. The plan will promote heritage tourism and provide incentives to local landowners and local governments to preserve Civil War battlefields and historic sites".

The Commission is to "acquire or provide funds for the acquisition of Civil War battlefields, cemeteries, and other historic properties. The Commission can "receive and accept loans, gifts, grants, donations or contributions of property".

Thomas Livsey,Tom Livsey and Annette Livsey Merritt,are all instrumental in establishing and strengthening this new family union of both families. Tom Livsey,who's great-great grandfather was Sandy Livsey,reflects on this wonderful experience.

"We are the Livseys. ... For the first time this past summer, the white and black Livseys celebrated a family reunion together. It was a wonderful occasion. No one owed no one an explanation or excuse for the past. No animosity. No guilt. The only thing each and everyone left with was a whole new family tree. How about that? Since then, we have become one family." Tom Livsey is tri-racial, black, white and indian.

He has been researching his family tree with his father,Thomas Livsey for over five years.Frustrated with dead-ends,no records or data on slaves,colored free men or Cherokee Indians,they turned to, Mrs. Annette Merritt Livsey,the great,great granddaughter of Green Livsey.She provided priceless information from her side of the Livsey family."We want to show other people how to put the past social injustices behind and wipe the slate clean...and start a new mold for the future...Damn we all Americans"

He is currently writing a "How-To-Family Tree Book-Interracial Roots", the inexpensive,everyday joe version,of the expensive"Opera Winfrey",type of a professional family genealogy research systems."No more Brick walls or Dead ends... No more pain-staking processes and wasted time at the Archives",said Tom Livsey.

For more Info, email inquiries to: tlivseyflnb ( @ ) yahoo dot com

LINK
More info on the Livsey family, one of the first to settle in Gwinnett County.
Pictures from the Toombs Plantation circa 1902

Golden Compass Movie, God, and Religion

Snellville United Methodist Church's newest bulletin has a "Parental Advisory" for the new movie, The Golden Compass. They advise parishioners to "carefully research the choices" they make for their family's viewing this holiday season.

The bulletin says that the author of the Golden Compass, Philip Pullman, says on his website that he "does not believe in God and that he believes no one can confirm the existence of one. He then goes on to say that if there is a God, he is hiding and not showing himself because he is ashamed of the people who follow him."

Well you know I am a nut, so I always have to check out these things. Some people are going to just blindly follow the instructions, since it's in a church bulletin, you must believe it's true, right?!? But not me. I am a questioner, and as a rule, the United Methodist Church welcomes questioning.
So, I went to Pullman's website, http://philip-pullman.com and it took me quite awhile to find the information to which the church bulletin was referring. I had to click on a BookTalk interview, in which someone asked him if he believed in God. Here was his answer:

"I see no evidence for his existence, but of course that's not to say that he doesn't exist; I simply haven't come across any yet. Furthermore, in my view, belief in God seems to be a very good excuse, on the part of those who claim to believe, for doing many wicked things that they wouldn't feel justified in doing without such a belief." (Feb, 2002) Link

Another person asked him, "Do you believe there is no value at all in organised religion?" and to that his answer was,

"No, I wouldn't say that, because it would be silly; obviously many congregations, of many different religions, do good things such as raising money for charity. No-one could argue with that. But whenever you get a political structure, with ranks and hierarchies, you get corruption; you get people who are more interested in progressing through those ranks than in doing good. Power corrupts" (Feb 2002) Link

Here's what the Los Angeles Times has to say about all the fury over this movie:

"Only with a movie attached, however, does an outfit like Focus on the Family deem the "blasphemous and heretical" content of Pullman's fiction worthy of their attention. The Catholic League is calling for a boycott of the film and books; evangelical Protestant organizations have settled for simply urging their constituencies to approach both with extreme caution. Whether the controversy will harm the film or wrap it in the glamour of the forbidden remains to be seen. As for the books, well, you have to wonder how much actual reading goes on in the sort of household that welcomes e-mails like the ones denouncing "The Golden Compass," anyway." Read full article

The judgmental attitude as shown in the 'warning' emails about the Golden Compass Movie is what turns off people (like Pullman) to organized religion. Just as in Jesus' times, the religious powers get angry when their power structure gets threatened.

I'm not saying that Snellville United Methodist Church was acting defensively in their publication of the "Parental Advisory," I think they were just acting on things they saw in the religious press - and they aren't seeing all sides to a story.

The Religious Right needs to realize that whenever they work to ban or badmouth a movie or book, it's just going to drive more attention to it. There's a great episode of the comedy Father Ted called The Passion of St. Tibulus, in which the Bishop wants Priests Ted and Dougal to go to the local movie theatre and protest a movie that the Church doesn't like.

Nobody's interested at all in the movie, until the public hears about the protest, and that the Church is protesting some naughty scenes in the movie - and of course, they end up promoting the movie instead of getting it banned! But the Church is caught between a rock and a hard place, because if they just ignore something they don't approve of, then it looks like the Church doesn't care. So I guess they have to protest it in some way.

I plan to act all righteous and boycott it, but it's really just because I'm too cheap to pay $8.50 each for movie tickets. If we want to boycott sinners, then we all need to boycott ourselves.

If you have children, do you think you will take them to see the movie, or do you think you will go and see the movie first, or do you think you will avoid it based on what you have heard about the author's lack of belief in God? Would you not do business with someone who was not Christian or doesn't believe as you would like them to believe?

Find out more about the Golden Compass controversy
What Christianity Today says about The Golden Compass

UPDATE: My second thoughts on the Golden Compass

Snellville Lighting of Christmas Tree

Monday, December 3rd will be the 26th Annual lighting of the Christmas Tree in Snellville.

The tree lighting will take place at Snellville City Hall, not at Briscoe Park as done in previous years. Time: 7-9 pm. It will be on the lawn on City Hall. Just look for the big honkin' tree. No it won't actually be honking, that's just an expression of its largeness. Poor choice of words perhaps.

Enjoy music from several local schools and Santa will stop by so the children can visit and have a photo made. Parents FYI: there is usually a cost for the Santa pictures.

The Snellville Keenager Club will be hosting refreshments in the Community Room....the refreshments are complimentary.

Also, representatives from Toys for Tots will be there, collecting toys for Christmas. Be sure and put this on your calendar and join us for an evening full of fun!

Holiday Show and Sale

The women's networking group, Women of Gwinnett, is having a Holiday Show and Sale today.

Date: December 1, 2007

Time: 1pm-6pm

Location: 4403 Mendi Ct
Suwanee, GA 30024-3951