The Sports Pig

Gwinnett County police said a Lilburn resident is believed to have killed a teen who was found dead at a home on Paden Mill Trail in unincorporated Lawrenceville on Wednesday.

The teen was identified on Thursday as 16-year-old Jose Daniel Martinez, who was from Lawrenceville. Martinez's family had reported him missing on Wednesday and officers went to the last place he was known to have been at and discovered his body, which had a gunshot wound.

Lilburn resident Dennis Calzadilla, was arrested late Wednesday night and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with Martinez's death. Calzadilla was identified as a suspect based on information investigators gathered while canvassing the area and developing leads.

Jail records show Calzadilla was also charged with gang activity-related charges — including unlawfully committing an offense with the intent to obtain, earn or maintain membership, or to increase status or position in a street gang — on Thursday. Police have not officially said why they believe Martinez was killed, however.

Gwinnett County leaders are in the midst of several studies to plan for the county's future, Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said during her annual State of the County Address on Thursday.

Hendrickson highlighted a human services needs assessment, the county's first-ever Arts and Creative Economy Master Plan, a disparity study that will look at the county's procurement and contracting system, and plans to hire a sustainability officer.

"The county has always been intentional about where we see ourselves in the future," Hendrickson said after the speech, which was delivered at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville. "This board paid particular to some of the issues and challenges that we're seeing around the nation — you know sustainability, climate, affordable housing, public safety, workforce challenges, transportation — and making sure we're meeting the gaps in our community.

It's been a long time since such an assessment was done. In fact, it's been more than 30 years since the last full-scale assessment was conducted. The last one was conducted in 1991, according to Hendrickson.

The study is expected to be finished later this year, possibly in the summer.

Hendrickson told the Daily Post that the services which the assessment is looking at are community services which are designed to address a variety of issues, ranging from food and nutrition to housing, homelessness, and poverty.

Parkview’s baseball team cruised past Ariton, Alabama for a 10-0 victory in five innings late Thursday night in the Perfect Game Showdown.

Mason Davis struck out seven in a five-inning perfect game to earn the victory. The Panthers’ top hitters were Colin Houck who went 3-for-3 with a home run, triple, double, four RBIs, and three runs, Landon Stripling who went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, Mason Watler who went 1-for-2 with a double and Ali Banks who was 1-for-3 with a triple. The games in this Perfect Game Showdown took place at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The Met, as it is affectionately called, is the former home of the Minor League Birmingham Barons and the current home of the SEC Baseball Tournament.

During breaks in her professional basketball career, Anne Marie Armstrong became a licensed real estate agent.

The former Wesleyan and Georgia Bulldogs standout, who has built a successful career in that field since 2016, currently works as director of land acquisition for an Atlanta area home builder. That’s her day job.

Her side hustle provides her basketball fix. Armstrong just completed her debut season as a college basketball analyst on SEC broadcasts, a welcome return to a sport she played at the pro level from 2013 through 2018, when two ACL injuries accelerated the end of her career. For 11 women’s games and one men’s game this season, she was back courtside at Stegeman Coliseum, where she played from 2009-13, as a color analyst for Georgia Bulldog games. Armstrong joins a growing list of former Gwinnett athletes who have transitioned into sports broadcasting. The ESPN and SEC Network lineup alone includes Carter, a Buford grad and North Gwinnett grad Tiffany Blackmon as female broadcasters, as well as Shiloh grad David Pollack and Parkview grad Matt Stinchcomb on football coverage. Parkview grad Jeff Francoeur and Duluth grad Nick Green are regulars on Atlanta Braves telecasts. Armstrong brought a considerable amount of knowledge into the job, too. She was a prep star at Wesleyan, where she won 10 state championships — 3 team titles in, 3 in volleyball and one in track and field, and three individually in the high jump — and she was a versatile contributor at Georgia, playing four positions with regularity.

The 6-foot-3 guard/forward was selected by the Dream in the 2013 WNBA Draft, and played pro basketball overseas in Brazil, Israel, Poland, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Her playing career ended with back-to-back ACL injuries, including four surgeries on one knee, and she settled back in metro Atlanta with her husband Aleks Sychenko, a former professional handball player and member of the Israeli National Team who she met while playing basketball in Israel.

AGCO Corporation, a Gwinnett County-based worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology, recently announced it is donating $650,000 to the United Nations Children's Fund in direct support of its earthquake response in Turkey.

The donation will facilitate the provision of critical supplies and services to children, adolescents, and families affected by the recent earthquakes.

AGCO’s donation to UNICEF will be used to distribute relief supplies and services to those in need in Turkey. While the total number of children affected remains unclear, an estimated 5.4 million children live in the provinces impacted by the earthquakes. 2.5 million children need immediate support.

Sixteen students from the eighth grade fundamentals of engineering class from Duluth's Coleman Middle School were recently given a very unique experience.

In celebration of National Engineer’s Week, Duluth-based Columbia Engineering and Services, Inc. hosted the students for a full day, hands-on civil engineering experience. The program day was a fast-paced day of learning about land planning, topography, parking lot design, land surveys, water structures, AutoCAD, AutoTURN, creating a site design, and pulling together a plan for presenting their final designs to a panel of judges — all between 9:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Twenty-five of Columbia’s staff participated in working with students and providing guidance throughout the day. This is Columbia’s fifth annual event to host the students. Columbia officials said they were honored to have the school’s namesake, Brooks Coleman, as a guest for the early part of the day.

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Lanier High School's community mourns the death of a member of their golf team; Police arrest a man in connection to a body found in Lawrenceville; And Nicole Love Hendrickson gives the "State of the County" address.

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Gwinnett County police are investigating the death of a teen who was found dead on Paden Mill Trail in unincorporated Lawrenceville.

The 16-year-old male's body was found at about 1:05 p.m. behind a house located at 651 Paden Mill Trail. Police discovered the body while visiting the house to conduct a follow up on a missing person's case that they were investigating. The teen had been shot. Anyone who has information about the teen's death is asked to call detectives or Crime Stoppers, which lets tipsters remain anonymous. Please head to Gwinnett Daily Post dot com for more updates.

The Georgia Department of Education recently released the list of AP Honors Schools — with 23 Gwinnett County public high schools making one or more of the lists.

Several Gwinnett schools were recognized in more than one category. Paul Duke STEM High School and Mountain View High School made the list in all seven categories in which they are eligible while Archer, Brookwood, Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Lanier, and Mountain View high schools made the list in six of the seven categories in which they are eligible.

DeNelle West, Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Chief Learning Officer, says the recognition is a testament to the dedication of the district’s educators. AP exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP courses are one of several ways Georgia students can access college-level learning at the high school level. Students who earn a 3, 4, or 5 on an AP exam may receive college credit. The 2023 AP Honor Schools were named in eight categories, based on the results of 2022 AP courses and exams. Please head over to Gwinnett Daily Post dot com for a full list of schools and honors.

The Sip & Swine BBQ Festival not only touts some of the best Kansas City-style barbecue in America, but it also impacts the future in extremely positive ways.

The festival is set Friday and Saturday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville. More than 100 professional and shade-tree barbecue competitors from 12 states and two continents will vie for the coveted People’s Choice Tasting award in an event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Admission and parking are free for the two-day porcine extravaganza, which will also feature some 80 craft vendors and 40 food vendors.

Now in its eighth year, the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival was originally established as a fundraiser for Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter in Buford. Home of Hope is focused on ending homelessness two generations at a time, providing service for homeless infants and children up to 17 years old, along with their young mothers. The nonprofit also aids teenagers aging out of the foster care system.

The festival has grown to feature bands, crafts and family-friendly activities, and this year’s event is expected to be the largest to date. Proceeds from competition and vendor fees, raffle ticket sales and the purchase of People’s Choice Taster Kits all go Home of Hope. Thus far, the festival has raised $742,000 on behalf of the children’s shelter. For more information about the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival, visit Sips and Swine dot com. For more information about Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, visit Home of Hope GCS dot com.

Is E.T. hanging out around the Lawrenceville Square? Maybe he's buying comic books at Galactic Quest before heading over to Strange Taco for dinner? 

We'll leave that to the pundits, both inside and outside the peanut gallery, to debate.

Regardless of whether you believe in aliens or not, Lawrenceville has notched a Number 1 ranking on what some people might consider a weird list: the most likely places in America to see a UFO. According to BonusFinder.com, you have a higher chance of seeing strange objects in the sky over Lawrenceville than you are in the skies over places such as Sedona, Arizona, and Greenville, South Carolina (which came in at Numbers 2 and 3 on the list, respectively), or the state capitol of Pennsylvania — Harrisburg — which is Number 4 on the list.

BonusFinder.com ranked cities based on how many sightings there have been for every 10,000 residents rather than total number of sightings. Sedona, with 96 sightings, would be Number 1 if the latter criteria were the determining factor since Lawrenceville only had 67 sightings. But, it's sightings per capita that determined the rankings, and Lawrenceville — which is home to Gwinnett County Airport at Briscoe Field by the way — was Number 1 in that regard. The city reached the top spot with 144.64 alleged sightings per 10,000 people, according to BonusFinder.com. The sightings lasted, on average, 15.47 minutes. 

Lanier High School has earned the College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A.

Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have achieved 50% or higher female exam taker representation in one or both AP computer science courses, or a percentage of female computer science exam takers that meet or exceed that of the school’s female population.

Sallie Holloway, Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Director of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, says the award is an acknowledgement of Lanier High School’s commitment to inclusivity.

More than 1,100 institutions achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-22 school year.

In 2022, Lanier High School was one of 209 schools recognized in the category of AP CSA, and the only school in Gwinnett County to be recognized. Lanier has worked with its partner, State Farm IT, and the cluster schools to create a culture that supports more diversity in computing and other STEM fields and are seeing the fruits of this labor. Beyond the College Board recognition, Lanier High has always been well-represented at the National Center for Women & Information Technology local and national awards. The school regularly sees dozens of girls recognized at the Georgia awards ceremony.

Additionally, Lanier has had five girls recognized nationally, including a national honorable mention for Valentina Diaz Romero and national winner Makenna Reilly for 2023

In its long and distinguished history, Buford High School has won untold state championships in just about every sport. And now the time has come to make some room on the school’s trophy display for the school’s latest state crown.

On February 24, Buford’s Game Day Cheerleading squad won the Class AAAAAA state championship at Columbus State College. It was the team’s first state title in its four-year history. Co-Coach Caroline Parker said the competition – which began with 16 teams in the preliminary round and had eight in the final round – called on squads to showcase their skills in band chant, a crowd-leading cheer, and a routine that accompanies their school’s fight song. The 24-member squad – which was selected last April – is made up of cheerleaders for the Wolves’ football and basketball games. Now that they know just exactly what it takes to win a state championship, the next season will serve as a lesson on how to effectively defend that championship. There were six seniors on the 2023 team and Parker said she was pleased they were graduating on such a high note. And those involved will get to take a brief break, although it won’t be long before the title defense begins, as tryouts begin in three weeks.

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Lawrenceville has beaten out the likes of Sedona, Az. and Greenville, SC. to be the nations top UFO sighting town. 

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www.atlantagladiators.com

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A Suwanee man is facing several charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, after he hit a Gwinnett County police officer’s patrol car on Interstate 85 on Thursday night.

Master Police Officer Hideshi Valle said Randy Vanallen Cooley, 35, is accused of hitting the patrol car on Interstate 85 South near Pleasant Hill Road just after 9 p.m. Police had previously said on social media that the officer, whose name has not yet been released, had been working the scene of a five-vehicle accident when her patrol car was hit.

Police said the officer sustained a head injury, but she is expected to recover.

Cooley has been charged with following too close, driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of an open alcohol container, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving without a valid license, and failure to register a vehicle in Georgia.

He was arrested at the scene of the accident.

The state House of Representatives handily passed a bill Monday aimed at bolstering school safety in Georgia.  

The “Safe Schools Act,” which has the strong support of Governor Brian Kemp, passed on a 148-20 vote.  

The bill, sponsored by Representative Will Wade, a Republican from Dawsonville, one of Kemp’s floor leaders in the House, would require schools to conduct an intruder or active-shooter drill by October 1 each year.  It would also require public schools to submit school safety plans to the Georgia Emergency Management Association as well as local emergency management and law enforcement agencies.

The legislation would create a mechanism for school employees to earn a “school safety and anti-gang endorsement” after completing a special training program. And it encourages colleges and universities to include training for future teachers in best practices for safe schools and deterring gangs.

Though the bill breezed through the House, it drew criticism from some Democratic lawmakers. Savannah Democratic representative Anne Allen Westbrook cited a study conducted by researchers at Georgia Tech showing increases in anxiety and depression among students for 90 days after active-shooter drills.  Representative Stacey Evans, an Atlanta Democrat, voted for the bill but also urged lawmakers to consider passing gun-control measures.   The bill will now move to the Georgia Senate for consideration.

A 14-year-old Brookwood High School student was hit by a pick-up truck while leaving the school on Thursday, and Gwinnett County police are using the incident to urge pedestrians and drivers to practice safety on or along roadways.

The incident happened at about 6:40 p.m., as the 14-year-old student was leaving the school campus and walking across Dogwood Road at a crosswalk on a red traffic signal. The teen sustained a head injury and a broken leg as a result of the injury.

The pick-up driver remained at the scene as police and firefighter/paramedics arrived.

Police are urging pedestrians to use sidewalks or paths while walking along roadways, and to walk facing traffic and as far from vehicles as possible if neither are available. They are also urging pedestrians to only cross streets at crosswalks or intersections since drivers are more likely to expect pedestrians at those locations.

Pedestrians are also urged to wait for gaps in traffic before trying to cross the street and to not assume drivers will see them. Wearing bright colors during the day, or reflective materials at night, and trying to make eye contact with drivers are some ways pedestrians can make sure they are seen.

Meanwhile, drivers are encouraged to be on the lookout for pedestrians and to always stop or yield to pedestrians who are in a crosswalk. They are also encouraged to never pass another vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk since they might be stopped to let a pedestrian cross the street.

Drivers are also urged to remain on alert and slow down while driving by schools and in neighborhoods, and to stick to posted speed limits.

Defense is at the forefront of the Norcross basketball teams’ state title defense.

Both the reigning Class seven A state champion girls and boys have ratcheted up their defense of late as they aim to bring two more trophies to Spalding Drive. The two teams host quarterfinal games Wednesday night — the girls vs. Number 3 Archer at 5:30, followed by the boys against Number 5 Newton at 7.

The Number 2-ranked Norcross girls have been especially impressive with suffocating defense, including holding Lambert in check in a 59-34 second-round win over the weekend. That came on the heels of holding Collins Hill to 41 points in a first-round victory. The high-paced Norcross boys are a dangerous team offensively, but their work on the defensive end has been equally important in their past postseason success. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils have held opponents to 56.3 points per game over their last 15 games. They held Osborne to 60 in the second round while also showcasing their high-powered offensive attack with 45 second-half points in a 72-60 win. They racked up 90 points in a first-round victory over Collins Hill.

In addition to the Norcross doubleheader, four other Gwinnett basketball teams have quarterfinal games Wednesday. In seven A, the Central Gwinnett girls play at McEachern at 6 p.m., while the Grayson boys take on Walton at 6:30 p.m. at Archer. The Lanier boys host Grovetown at 7:30 p.m. in six A, and the Providence Christian boys host Spencer at 7:30 p.m. in double A.

For the third consecutive week, the Number 14-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College softball team has had a player named the Continental Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Senior Alexa Good received the latest honor after tossing a two-hit shutout in the Grizzlies’ 8-0 victory against No. 9 Tennessee Wesleyan University last Saturday. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native struck out four batters and did not issue a walk in the game.

The right-hander stands 4-0 this spring with two shutouts and a 1.68 earned run average. She has recorded 27 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. Sophomore Annalise Wood was named the CAC Pitcher of the Week for the first two weeks of the 2023 season.

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host the University of Rio Grande from Ohio in a doubleheader on Friday, March 3, at the Grizzly Softball Complex, starting at 2 p.m. The four-game series between the two teams will continue Saturday, March 4, at noon.

Gwinnett County commissioners are moving to adopt international property maintenance rules that will enable the county’s code enforcement officers to issue citations for interior code violations at rental properties.

The county began the process of adopting the International Property Maintenance Code this past week. Adoption of the code would enable the county’s code enforcement officers to work with rental property tenants to ensure the interiors of their residences remain up to code. Code enforcement officers currently have no authority over interior issues at rental properties.

The rules would only apply to rental properties. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs must first review the proposed policy change before the Board of Commissioners can officially adopt the International Property Maintenance Code. State law requires the 60-day review by the DCA before final adoption can take place. The International Property Maintenance Code was compiled by the International Code Council. The code requires, among other things, all interior surfaces are maintained and that issues are corrected swiftly. It also requires ongoing pest control, making sure equipment works, and ensuring the interiors of rental properties main clean and sanitary.

The code does state that occupants of rental units will be tasked with ensuring the interior of their particular unit remains clean while property owners are responsible for shared and public areas.

An occupant can be held responsible if their actions, or failure to act, directly leads to any rodent or insect infestation.

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As his Collins Hill teammates finished off the football program’s first state championship in 2021, then Collins Hill senior Jayden Faison was in his own fight.

Faison was an inspiration during the state title run and he spent the latter stages of that breakthrough season in the hospital battling cancer. He kept fighting through Friday, when he died less than two years after his diagnosis.

His legacy at Collins Hill revolves around that fighting spirit, which he showed on the football field and while facing cancer.

Collins Hill coach Drew Swick remembered Faison as a hardworking player who didn’t say too much, but always had a smile on his face. Swick was part of a group, along with then Collins Hill head coach Lenny Gregory and principal Kerensa Wing, that visited Faison in the hospital in late April 2022 to present him with his Collins Hill High School diploma. At the time, Faison was using a wheelchair, but has been preparing for the moment for two weeks so that he could walk and receive his diploma. That spirit paid off on the football field, where he was an undersized inside linebacker at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. He made up for the lack of ideal size with speed, hard work in the weight room and intense preparation.

While he didn’t start on the loaded state championship team’s defense, he was on every special teams unit and was regarded for his tackling ability. Swick, who was promoted to head coach after the 2022 season, said the Collins Hill program plans to wear a Number 8 patch in honor of Faison’s number this season, as well as make the Number 8 jersey special, one that is given to a top defensive player each season who earns the right to wear it.

The semi-annual Kidsignments sale is back this coming week and runs through Saturday at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds.

The sale features quality, gently used infant, kids, teen and maternity clothing, shoes, accessories, games, puzzles, toys, bikes, baby equipment and much more from more than 1,000 families who are sellers at the event.

This week’s schedule at the Kidsignments sale at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds:

Tuesday, February 28th is  9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 1 is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Items are 25% off unless the tag is marked ‘NR’

Thursday, March 2 is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Items are 33% off unless the tag is marked ‘NR’.

 Friday, March 3 will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with Items are 40% off unless the tag is marked NR

And Saturday, March 4 is 9 a.m.to 6 p.m. and will have Items that are 50% off unless tag is marked NR

Head over to Kid Signments dot com for more information.

While things didn’t go well for Georgia’s men’s basketball team in Saturday’s loss to Missouri, its fans can take solace in what happened Saturday in Norcross.

Bulldog signee Lamariyon Jordan went off for 36 points — 27 in the second half — as fourth-ranked Norcross pulled away from Osborne for a 72-60 victory in the Class AAAAAAA second round. The defending state champion Blue Devils (25-4), unbeaten in February, will host Newton at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Elite Eight, marking the fourth time those two have played the last two seasons. Jordan, who also grabbed 12 rebounds, scored the first seven points of the third quarter to open up a more comfortable lead that grew as big as 18 in the second half. The 6-foot-6 wing scored 16 of his team’s 20 third-quarter points and made all four of his 3-pointers in the second half. Samarion Bond and Toby Ojukwu up Jordan in the fourth quarter to keep Osborne from making it a close game. Ojukwu, who had four rebounds and three assists, was 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the fourth. Bilal Abdur-Rahman scored 11 for the Blue Devils. Up next is a rematch with Newton, a team Norcross beat 73-71 earlier this season on Jordan’s game-winning 3-pointer in the Hawks-Naismith Classic. The two teams played twice last season, including Norcross’ victory in the state semifinals.

Gwinnett County has seen a wave of big construction projects in recent years.

Lawrenceville got a new arts center and college corridor while the Gas South Convention Center underwent a major expansion; Duluth got a new entertainment district; Sugar Hill built a downtown district; Buford Highway in Suwanee has been transformed with new housing; and the Exchange at Gwinnett has risen out of the ground near Buford.

But, the construction isn’t finished. Not by a long shot. A new wave of big construction projects, including new development and some redevelopment projects, is coming along across Gwinnett County.

From Snellville and Lilburn, to Dacula and out to Peachtree Corners, and even in Lawrenceville, there are major projects that are either already under construction or will be coming up in the next few years.

The new wave of big projects offer a range of focuses. Northside Hospital is turning its Gwinnett campus in Lawrenceville into what is expected to eventually be the biggest campus in the hospital system with a new 15-story patient tower. That tower, by the way, will also be one of the tallest building in Gwinnett County when it’s done — although the Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta hotel will retain its title as the county’s tallest building.

Northside is also working on a medical office park on Buford Drive, across the street from the Exchange at Gwinnett, in the Mall of Georgia area.

For more information on all the projects in Gwinnett, head over to Gwinnett Daily Post dot com.

For the second time in four years, Primerica officials have donated a vehicle to the American Red Cross to help with blood collections across the metro Atlanta area.

Primerica and its philanthropic arm, the Primerica Foundation, presented a Ford Transit Connect van to Red Cross officials while also hosting a blood drive on Wednesday.

It is the latest action in a longstanding relationship between Primerica and the Red Cross that stretches back to 2011 and has seen more than $400,000 in disaster relief donations and medical equipment given to the Red Cross. Primerica employees have also donated more than 3,000 pints of blood during blood drives held over the last 20 years.

Primerica previously donated a Dodge RAM Promaster City Van to the Red Cross in 2019. The vehicle donated this week is expected to help the Red Cross grow its blood supply, coming at a time when the organization is trying to increase its supply across all of Georgia. The new vehicle will be used to transport blood from Red Cross processing, testing and storage centers to patients in hospitals and cancer treatment centers. Primerica officials said the vehicle can also be used for emergency deliveries of rare blood and urgent blood to hospitals that are experiencing shortages.

Gwinnett County Public Schools appointed two elementary school principals and a new district-wide instructional technology and innovation chief on Thursday night.

The board voted to appoint Ashley Coughlin as the new principal at Berkley Lake Elementary School and Stacey Pickett as the new principal at White Oak Elementary School. Board members also voted to appoint Lisa Watkins as the new executive director of instructional technology and innovation. Coughlin has worked for GCPS since 2007, when she joined the district as a teacher at Suwanee Elementary School.  She moved from Suwanee Elementary to Roberts Elementary School in 2010, where she also served as a teacher. She then became the local school technology coordinator at Harris Elementary School in 2012 and then became an assistant principal a that school in 2014. Pickett has worked in education since 1998, when she became a teacher in DeKalb County Schools. She joined GCPS in 1999 as a Title I teacher at Stripling Elementary School and then moved to Cooper Elementary School as a teacher in 2003. She became the assistant principal at Gwin Oaks Elementary School in 2004 and has been an assistant principal at White Oak Elementary School since 2009. Watkins has worked in education for more than 30 years, with much of that time spent in GCPS. She joined the district in 1991 as a language arts teacher at the Gwinnett Online Campus and stayed in that position until 1999, when she became an instructional lead teacher at the online campus. She became  GCPS’ director of school technology in 2017.

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The semi-annual Kidsignments sale is back this coming week and runs through Saturday at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds.

The sale features quality, gently used infant, kids, teen and maternity clothing, shoes, accessories, games, puzzles, toys, bikes, baby equipment and much more from more than 1,000 families who are sellers at the event.

For more information be sure to visit www.bgpodcastnetwork.com

https://www.lawrencevillega.org/ 

https://www.foxtheatre.org/ 

https://guideinc.org/ 

https://www.psponline.com/ 

https://www.kiamallofga.com/ 

https://www.milb.com/gwinnett 

https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/ 

www.atlantagladiators.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new tower at Northside Hospital Gwinnett is still on track for completion in 2025, but after consultations with the Federal Aviation Administration the structure will be two stories shorter than originally planned, hospital officials said.

In late December, Northside officials announced that they had received approval to add seven stories onto the project at its Lawrenceville campus for a total of 17, which would have made the tower the tallest building in Gwinnett County.

But after consultations between Northside and the FAA, a decision was made to lower the tower by two stories — 27 feet — to ensure flight safety since the Gwinnett County Airport at Briscoe Field is nearby.

Despite the reduction in floors, Northside’s plan is still to add more than 300 beds to the Lawrenceville campus, bringing the total to 696 when the project is complete. That will make Lawrenceville the largest facility in the Northside system, surpassing the Atlanta campus, which has 622 beds. A third of the beds in the tower will be used for critical care, which will replace the original intensive care unit that was built at Northside Gwinnett in the 1980’s. The intensive care rooms will be larger than what the current ones with upgrades to meet patient needs.

The Gwinnett County Board of Education's leadership will remain unchanged this year after a majority for the board members chose to keep Steve Knudsen as their vice-chairman for this year.

Knudsen, who represents District 2 on the school board, served as the board's vice-chairman last year. The board voted last month to keep Board Member Tarece Johnson as its chairwoman, a role she filled last year as well.

The board postponed making a decision on a vice-chairman last month because Knudsen was not present for the January board meeting.

Knudsen, Johnson and Board Member Mary Kay Murphy voted to keep him as vice-chairman. Board Members Karen Watkins and Adrienne Simmons voted for Simmons to be the vice-chair.

Lionheart Theatre in Norcross hosted a staged reading of Diane Dexter’s play, “Deli,” in 2022. The experience affected the playwright in several ways. She said hearing her words aloud was unnerving at first. Yet now that the play is scheduled for production at Lionheart from March 3-19, Dexter anticipates seeing what this amazing cast brings to her characters.

The journey of creation to presentation is an experience few get to travel, and the message “Deli” conveys is also a personal one.

Dexter grew up in a small Pennsylvania town where her family owned a drug store. She experienced firsthand how much hard work it takes to sustain a family business, and what a devastating effect the chain stores had when they opened their doors offering cheaper prices.

Lionheart’s founder and producing director Tanya Gilmer appreciated the craft and message of Dexter’s work.

The play itself takes place in 1990 and chain restaurants are cutting into the Davison family deli’s income. The customer base is shifting, and the younger generation of customers are exploring other eateries. What happens to a neighborhood institution when the neighborhood changes?

A few of the cast members from the 2022 staged reading auditioned for this March production of “Deli” and were cast. Dexter’s husband, Jim Dexter, is also in this cast.

Performances are scheduled March 3-19 on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. There are also Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors, students and members of the military.

Proposed legislation would allow Georgians to create state-funded Education Savings Accounts.

Under Senate Bill 233, taxpayers would fund $6,000 per student per school year. Students could use that money to defray "qualified" education costs, including private school tuition. During last year’s session, the state Senate scuttled a similar measure, Senate Bill 601, the Georgia Educational Freedom Act. It would have similarly created state-funded Promise Scholarships of up to $6,000 a year, which Georgia families could have used for education expenses, such as private school tuition, tutoring and homeschool curriculum. A separate measure, House Bill 54, would increase the state’s tax credit scholarship cap from $120 million annually to $200 million per year starting in 2024. The state’s tax credit scholarship program, enacted in 2008, allows individuals and corporations to use part of their state tax obligation for private school scholarships.

It is not just the private sector and Gwinnett’s cities that are undertaking new big projects in the county.

The county’s government leaders are involved in some significant economic development projects that will grab headlines for years to come. The most high profile of those is the redevelopment of Gwinnett Place Mall, but the county’s economic development team also has gateway development projects at the OFS property in unincorporated Norcross and at the former Olympic Tennis Center property on U.S. Highway 78 near Snellville. The Gwinnett Place Mall redevelopment is a project that business and elected government leaders often point to as one of the biggest projects looming on the horizon in Gwinnett.

The mall was a major shopping destination when it opened in 1984, but it had gone into a sharp decline in recent years. County leaders closed on a purchase of most of the mall property — sans the Macy’s, Beauty Master, Mega Mart and former Sear’s anchors — in 2021.

Renderings of what the property could become include a central green space; a cultural community center; retail spaces; dining options; office space; multi—family uses; job and small business support; and other community services.

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https://www.psponline.com/ 

https://www.kiamallofga.com/ 

https://www.milb.com/gwinnett 

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You can get a Narcan kit in Lawrenceville or Norcross; The Gwinnett Stripers PA announcer has been called up to the Big Leagues; And a local student will be performing with the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. 

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https://www.psponline.com/ 

https://www.kiamallofga.com/ 

https://www.milb.com/gwinnett 

https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/ 

www.atlantagladiators.com

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We talk with Atlanta music legend Kevn Kinney ahead of his shows in Atlanta and Athens. 

Also 

A former Doraville police officer who had previously been accused of concealing the death of 16-year-old Norcross resident Susana Morales has now been formally accused of kidnapping and murdering her.

The charges against Miles Bryant have been upgraded to include felony murder and kidnapping in connection with Morales' death last July. Bryant was previously charged with concealing the death of another person and false report of a crime. He will continue to face those charges in addition to the new ones.

Bryant's employment with Doraville police was terminated when he was arrested earlier this month.  Police now believe that Morales was killed within four hours of her disappearance on the evening of July 26. Morales had gone to visit a friend earlier that evening and had texted her mother when she was walking back to her home just before 10 p.m.

Police say Morales encountered Bryant sometime between 10 and 10:30 p.m. on July 26, 2022, and that her death is believed to have occurred sometime between then and 2 a.m. on July 27.

Morales' parents had searched for her throughout the night and filed a missing person's report with police at 9 a.m. on July 27. Morales' skeletal remains were found in a wooded area off State Route 316 between Drowning Creek and the Gwinnett-Barrow county line earlier this month.

A personal handgun which Bryant had reported missing at about 11 a.m. on July 27 was found near Morales' remains. The cause of Morales' death remains under investigation at this time, however.

Run The Reagan has always been a celebratory event in the Snellville area, with the annual road race providing fun, competition and a chance to raise funds for local charities.

But this year’s race, scheduled for Saturday, will also come with some sadness as those who gather to participate and work the event remember the life of Parks Mann, the race’s founder.

Mann died on January 6 at the age of 76. A deacon at Smoke Rise Baptist Church, he was known in the community for founding the Run The Reagan race as well as his work with the Gwinnett Community Clinic. Part of Mann’s legacy will be on display Saturday when Ronald Reagan Parkway is shut down for the event, which includes a fun run, a 5K, a half-marathon and a full marathon. Upwards of 2,000 people are expected to participate

The event, in its 28th year, has been a generous community benefactor for years, raising more than $3 million, which is donated to local charitable organizations.

This year the Brookwood Schools Foundation, the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry, the South Gwinnett Cluster Foundation and the Lilburn Cooperative Ministry are the charities that will benefit from funds raised by Run The Regan.

For high school seniors seeking opportunities to continue their musical education in college, the next several weeks are known as “the audition season.”

Peachtree Ridge senior Jihoon Kim will have an excellent experience to help bolster his credentials on the cello when he makes his solo debut in late March with the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. Kim finished second in a recent concerto competition to earn a spot performing with the iconic DSO, now celebrating its sixth decade.

The Suwanee resident will join the orchestra to perform the fourth movement of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, a composition he knows very well. Although this will be his first spotlight appearance with an orchestra, Kim is familiar with large ensembles, having performed with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Emory Youth Symphony and the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra.

And while he’s no stranger to the stage and the spotlight, Kim admitted he’s still trying to wrap his head around this prestigious opportunity. Kim has several schools he’s interested in and had a late-February in-person audition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He has also had zoom auditions with Bard College in New York, the University of Georgia, Columbus State, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

Kim’s performance with the DSO — now under the baton of new music director Paul Bhasin — is set for 8 p.m. on March 21 at the Marvin Cole Auditorium in Clarkston. For more information, visit Dekalb Symphony dot Org.

Gwinnett County Police K-9 officer Kai had a tough time last summer after he was shot by a suspect that he was trying to apprehend and subsequently had to have one of his legs amputated because of his injuries.

On Tuesday, Gwinnett County commissioners recognized Kai, told him he’d done a good job in his service to the county and said he could now kick back his paws, relax and enjoy retirement. The commissioners voted formally to retire Kai from law enforcement service. Kai’s retirement comes after a year in which he made headlines in ways he and his handler, Cpl. Aaron Carlyle, could not have anticipated 12 months ago. A year ago, Kai, a Belgian Malanois, was a newcomer to the Gwinnett police department’s K-9 unit, having just joined the department in August 2021, and he looked to have a long career ahead of him.

Then, came that fateful day on May 23, 2022, when he was brought in to help track a suspect who was accused of entering a home and threatening his girlfriend and other people who were inside the home in the Lawrenceville area.

The suspect had fled the home by the time police had arrived, which is why Kai was brought in to help track him down with aerial assistance from the police department’s Aviation Unit.

The suspect opened fire at officers who were pursuing him and two of the bullets hit Kai. Kai was in the hospital for three weeks and have to have one of his leg’s amputated Police had returned fire and shot the suspect, who was then taken to Northside Gwinnett Hospital while Kai was taken to North Georgia Veterinary Specialists in Buford for treatment.

Due to his injuries, Kai’s veterinarian, Dr. J.W. Wallis, recommended he be retired last August. Although his doctor recommended his retirement last August, the police department kept him in service for a few more months to help with some police activities that saw him acting as a de facto face of the department. At the Red, Blue and You law enforcement appreciation event last November, for example, he was recognized for his bravery when he received the Purple Heart Award for law enforcement.

Sasha Tarassenko, a senior at Paul Duke STEM High School, is one of only three students to win this year’s 2022-23 concerto competition with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Sasha, one of the 114 students who make up the symphony’s youth ensemble, will have the opportunity to perform a solo flute concerto next season. The Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra is under the direction of Resident Conductor and Music Director Jerry Hou.

Anh Ho, a percussionist at Collins Hill High School, earned honorable mention.

Applications for the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 2023-24 season are now open. Applications and auditions are open to rising eighth to 12th grade musicians who play orchestral string, woodwind, brass, and percussion, including piano and harp.

For more information be sure to visit www.bgpodcastnetwork.com

https://www.lawrencevillega.org/ 

https://www.foxtheatre.org/ 

https://guideinc.org/ 

https://www.psponline.com/ 

https://www.kiamallofga.com/ 

https://www.milb.com/gwinnett 

https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/ 

www.atlantagladiators.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.