Former Tech hoops star arrested in Gwinnett on DUI charge

Former Georgia Tech basketball player and current New Orleans Hornets guard, Jarrett Jack, "was arrested in Gwinnett County Sunday morning on charges of DUI, speeding and failure to maintain lane" according to the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department.  Jack was a key member of Georgia Tech's 2004 team that advanced to the NCAA championship game.

I am very disappointed to see a former Georgia Tech student-athlete in this kind of trouble.  Whether these athletes want to be role models or not, they are and this type of behavior sets a bad example.  That being said, Jack should not receive any harsher treatment by the legal system than a non-celebrity arrested on a similar charge.  Likewise, he should not receive any more lenient treatment.  He should be treated just as you or I would be if we had made the incredibly dumb decision to drink and drive.

Why can't GSMST screen applicants?

This morning, the AJC ran a very troubling article about whether the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) has "illegally screened applicants."  My concern, however, is not whether they have done this, but why shouldn't they be allowed to do so?

Before I go further, let me be clear on two points.  First, GSMST should follow the law; I am not suggesting otherwise.  If the law is illogical and is not in the best interest of the state of Georgia, that law should be changed.  Second, I cannot confirm my understanding from the story that there is no screening for admittance to the school based on academic qualifications.  The article implies that no such screening is permitted but I was not able to find any clarity on the point on the GSMST web site.

According to the Atlanta Journal, GSMST is under investigation for its enrollment process.

The complaints stem from the charter school's 2011-12 application, which appeared on the Gwinnett County public school's website for weeks as parents rushed to enroll. The application asked for math grades, test scores, gifted education and disability status, English language comprehension -- all so a student could gain entry into a public charter school that by law must have open enrollment.

Louis Erste, director of the state charter school division, says that charter schools must offer services for students with "disabilities [and] English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes."  I completely agree with providing services for disabled students; whether Gwinnett taxpayers should have to fund instruction of basic English skills is a separate blog post in and of itself.  However, GSMST was created to be "academically challenging."  As such, isn't filtering out applicants who cannot handle the academic rigor of the school completely logical as well as reasonable?  This omission makes the fact that the school has a lottery for admission even more troubling:

Today, as GSMST holds a lottery to eliminate half of the school's 611 applicants, the state will be monitoring the process for fairness and legal compliance.

(The results of this lottery are now posted on the school's home page.)  If there are more applicants than available slots, a lottery is somewhat acceptable provided that all participants in the lottery have been verified to meet minimum academic qualifications.  But can it possibly be fair, if applicants who have not demonstrated some minimum level of academic achievement, find themselves with one of the limited admissions slots while a student who is demonstrably more qualified be left out?  Even if all applicants are screened, a selection lottery is stil questionable.  Why are students not ranked in some fashion and admission slots be assigned beginning at the top of the ranking list?  While the specifics of how to rank students can be debated, such techniques are used by colleges all the time.

If there is sufficient space in not only schools like GSMST but in the gifted programs and Advanced Placement classes in regular high schools, we should welcome any student who is willing to step up to the challenge, provided that standards for those who may struggle with the demands of these advanced courses are not watered down.  Some students who might not enter a program with the best qualifications on paper could well be a hidden gem.  However, when the number objectively qualfied applicants outstrips the number of admission slots, why are we afraid to allocate those slots to those who have been identified as having a track record of academic success and, as such, highly likely to achieve the most success in an accelerated educational enrivonment?

Gwinnett County has many talented students in the areas of mathematics, science and technology.  For example, in Georgia Tech's entering freshman class in the 2009 Fall Semester, Gwinnett high schools made up one-third of the top 21 high schools - Brookwood High School was number 2 - that sent students to one of America's finest technological institutions of higher learning.  There is little doubt that a school such as GSMST is a great asset to Gwinnett students.  One of my chief complaints with public education is that it is does not do enough to ensure that the best and the brightest are pushed to higher levels of achievement.  Schools like GSMST are a step in the right direction to remedying this weakness of public education.  However, such schools and programs are only beneficial if they truly nurture our community's most promising students.

Our society seems to have lost its passion for the pursuit of excellence.  This is a problem that is larger than Gwinnett County.  Why are we unwilling to identify and ensure opportunity for our most promising students?  Why won't we ensure that those students are pushed to the highest possible levels?  If we are indeed leaving  the most talented students at the mercy of random chance to gain admittance to the best school to develop those talents, we are doing a disservice to these students and our community   If state law is a hurdle in the pursuit of excellence, then that law should be changed. We should not be afraid as a society to admit that some students have better odds to achieve extreme academic success than others.  Until we are willing to celebrate excellence, America will continue to languish in educational quality. 

So who wants to run for chairman?

The schedule for a special election for Gwinnett Commission Chairman to replace recently resigned Charles Bannister has been set:

On Nov. 15, a Probate Court judge will officially call for the special election.

On Nov. 16, the County Commission plans to set a qualifying fee for candidates.

Candidates can qualify for the office beginning at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 and ending at noon Dec. 8.

The deadline for voter registration for the special election will be Feb. 14. Absentee voting also will begin on Valentine’s Day.

Advanced voting for the special election will be March 7-11 at the county elections office, 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, in Lawrenceville. The office will have extended hours, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The special election will be March 15. If needed, a runoff election will be held April 12.

The AJC article goes on to speculate who might run for the office.  Those mentioned (along with my comments) are:

Former Gwinnett Commissioner Lorraine Green: This makes me think of Roy Barnes.  We said no to her in 2008, but she may not have gotten the message.  Even with all I know about Charles Bannister now along with the other commissioners that have done such a lousy job, I would still pick any one of them over Lorraine Green.

Republican Party Chairman Bruce LeVell: The Buzz endorsed LeVell when we ran in the 2008 primary against Shirley Lasseter in District 1.  This would be a great choice for Gwinnett assuming his positions remain the same as they were two years ago.

2008 Democrat Commission Chairman candidate Vincent Passariello: Gwinnett has grown more and more Demorat in recent years, but I do not think we are quite to the point where a Democrat has a strong chance of winning a county-wide seat.  Of course, Lorraine Green nearly beat Bannister in 2008 and I don't really see much difference between her and a Democrat.

Gwinnett Village CID head Chuck Warbington: I honestly do not know much about Warbington.  He is a graduate of Dacula High School and he played for the 1990 Georgia Tech National Championship football team.  While I think having a national championship ring as a Yellow Jacket is a great part of his bio, that alone is not enough to gain the endorsement even from a website with "Buzz" in its name.

Other names mentioned include Dacula mayor Jimmy Wilbanks and Suwanee mayor Dave Williams.

I am still surprised not to see Mike Beaudreau listed as a possibility.  I have not seen any articles or tweets saying he has decided against running.  Until that happens, I have to believe he is a strong possibility to throw his hat into the ring.

Status of the Buzz

The weeds have been growing up in the Buzz lately and I really hate that.  Unfortunately, I simply have not had the time these days to spend on the site like I had earlier this year.  Early in the summer, I made a serious commitment to working out and losing weight.  I have had a great deal of success - I have lost about 100 pounds! - but going to the gym on a near nightly basis has taken away much of the time I previously could have spent on the blog.  With fall here, I have also spent a lot of time going to Georgia Tech football games and keeping up with the exciting season the Jackets have going thus far!  This all adds to up to something having to be squeezed out of the schedule and, recently, that has been the Buzz.

Fortunately, the turning of the calendar to a new year is a great time for renewal and a fresh start.  My hope is to somehow carve out some more time in 2010 to reinvigorate the Buzz.  I am considering taking on some additional Gwinnett bloggers to contribute to the site in order to keep the Buzz brand alive even as my time dedicated to posting new articles is limited.  If you are interested in writing for the Buzz, please contact me.  I have not completely thought this out, but if there is some interest from someone to help contribute content, I am sure we can figure things out.

Thanks for continuing to check in with the Buzz.  2010 promises to be a key year in Gwinnett County with two county commission seats up for election along with continuing property rights issues in our county.  Keeping the Gwinnett Buzz a strong voice for freedom and limited government is a priority.

Duluth's Stewart Cink wins British Open

Stewart Cink, a resident of Duluth, broke the hearts of the golf world yesterday by defeating sentimental favorite Tom Watson in a playoff to win the British Open.  This is Cink's first major championship.  While many were disappointed not to see Watson make history as the oldest winner of a major championship, I was ecstatic to see Cink take the tournament.  You see, to me, Cink is more than a fellow Gwinnettian; he is also a fellow Georgia Tech alumnus.  The Buzz would like to congratulate Stewart on his win and wish him well in the PGA Championship later this season!

Norcross drops annexation plans

This story is a bit dated but, given that I was complaining recently about Norcross' plan to expand via annexation, I felt it was only fair that I point out that the plan has been dropped.  I particularly appreciate the comments of Mayor Bucky Johnson (who I would like to note was the Georgia Tech band director when I spent my one week in the Tech band as a freshman!):

However, Mayor Bucky Johnson, who had met with members of the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association and reported their concerns to the council, said “alienating large groups of people isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Need a job? Can you teach?

Ok, so it is not that simple.  But if you are a certified teacher seeking a job for next year, then Gwinnett County would like to talk to you.  Granted, if you are seeking a such a position, you probably already knew of tomorrow's event at Gwinnett Center well before you found it on the Buzz.  Thus, I am posting this not so much to notify job seekers as I am to urge Gwinnett County Public Schools to turn the economic downturn into an opportunity. 

With so many professionals having lost their jobs in recent months, the degree of talent, knowledge and skills that has been idled from the economy is much higher than usual.  Gwinnett should available itself of this talent pool to hire, especially in critical areas like math and science, experienced professionals from non-education backgrounds.  Such individuals could bring a unique perspective to the classroom that many teachers simply cannot provide.  This is not to say that career educators are not effective math and science teachers; many most definitely are.  However, personal observation has shown me that many career teachers cannot relate to world of corporate America and, as such, cannot provide the insight into the business world that would be so rich for so many students.  One of my most effective teachers in high school was a chemist in industry prior to becoming a teacher.  I think it would be fair to say that she was the best chemistry teacher at Central Gwinnett High School at the time.  (She certainly made my transition to the rigors of Chemistry 1101 at Georgia Tech very smooth!)  Thus, I urge Gwinnett County school officials to avail themselves of this rare opportunity to broaden the breadth of career experience in their ranks.  Gwinnett's students will be well served if they do.

Archer and Mountain View pick mascots

Archer Tigers.

Mountain View Bears.

Wow, could they have chosen two more boring, generic mascots?  Yellow Jackets would have been vastly superior to either of these!  Oh well, I guess it is ok that our county is inundated with references to the Georgia Bulldogs while the state's premier instituion of higher learning goes unrecognized.  The Archer logo even mimics North Carolina-based Appalachain State University!  I will just continue to be a Central Gwinnett Black Knight fan!  Once a Black Knight, always a Black Knight!

(click to enlarge images)

Archer High Yellow Jackets? I say yes!

Archer High Yellow Jackets?  Has a ring to it.

Mountain View High Yellow Jackets?  That would work too.

As to the principals of Gwinnett County two newest high schools, one of their tasks is to choose a mascot and color scheme for their schools.  I am here to start the campaign for "Yellow Jackets" to be the nickname of one of these two schools.  We have had a "Bulldogs" for years.  We have a fairly new school that uses that odious UGA "G" logo (ok...UGA ripped that off of the Green Bay Packers, but try convincing folks around here of that!).  The time is now to tip Gwinnett's cap to the crown jewel of the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology!  Here's to seeing a facsimile of America's favorite mascot, Buzz, gracing the uniforms of Archer or Mountain View when they take the football field this fall!

Gwinnett teams to play for state championships

Amid all the rancor over socialized garbage and commissioner retreats, there is some uplifting news in Gwinnett County.  This weekend, three local teams will play for high school football state championships!  Perennial power Buford plays Calhoun this evening for the AA championship.  Tomorrow, Wesleyan takes on ECI for the top spot in A, and Peachtree Ridge faces off against Camden County for the AAAAA crown.   All games are in the Georgia Dome.  The Buzz wishes good luck to all the local teams in their title quest!

On a personal note, I would like to also like to wish our "next door neighbor" Flowery Brach High luck as well as they play the Syrupmakers of Cairo High (gotta love that name!) for the AAA title.  The Branch is the alma mater for Georgia Tech backup quarterback, Jaybo Shaw.  Jaybo's brother and Tech recruit, Connor, is the quarterback for the Falcons.