One of the 20 Republican members of Congress who have been backing GOP challengers to U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy's bid to become Speaker of the House is also one of Gwinnett's three congressional representatives.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde a Republican, is the only member of Georgia's congressional delegation who is backing U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, in the speaker vote. As of Wednesday afternoon, Congress had voted six times over a span of two days to elect a speaker, but none of the three candidates — including one Democrat — have received the 218 votes needed to become speaker. Republicans make up a narrow majority in the House, but McCarthy, who has been a house minority leaders for years, has been 17 votes shy of the total needed because 20 Republicans aligned with the Freedom Caucus have chosen to support other Republicans for the speaker's seat. On Wednesday, the group of Republicans refusing to back McCarthy, which also include Representatives Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, pooled their support around Donalds.
Congress can't conduct any other business, including swearing in its members and setting rules for the chamber, until a speaker is chosen, leaving the chamber unable to function.
This is the first time in a century that a vote on selecting a speaker has gone to multiple ballots. In truth, all three of Gwinnett's congressional representatives are backing a different person in the speaker vote. As expected, Representative Lucy McBath, a Democrat, is backing her party's nominee for the seat, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York. It's how the two Republican members of Congress who represent he northern half of Gwinnett vote that is key, however.
While Clyde is backing Donalds, new Representative Rich McCormick, also Republican, is backing McCarthy.
Prior to the four rounds of voting on Wednesday, when he began supporting Donalds, Clyde backed Representative Andy Biggs, of Arizona in the first round of voting on Tuesday, before moving his support to Representative Jim Jordan, of Ohio — even though Jordan himself was backing McCarthy.
Although it wasn’t necessarily a vacation, the Brookwood High School Bronco Marching Band recently completed a history-making holiday sojourn to Southern California.
On January 2, the Bronco Marching Band performed in the iconic Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., the first high school ensemble from Gwinnett County to take part in the parade, which has been a holiday tradition for more than 130 years. A collection of more than 330 people, including 215 performers, family and friends made the trip to California. It typically takes a bad 7 to 8 years to be selected after they apply to perform in the parade. Brookwood had originally applied to take part in the 2018 parade but the COVID pandemic prevented an earlier trip. Students had to raise about $2,800 each for the trip, which also included visits to Disneyland (where a New Year’s Eve parade performance in the park was scuttled due to the weather), Universal Studios, the El Capitan Theatre (where they saw “Avatar: The Way of Water”), the Griffith Observatory and a walking tour of Hollywood movie locations. The parade itself appears both thrilling and exhausting, covering some 5.5 miles, starting at the corner of Green Street and Orange Blossom Boulevard and heading to its conclusion on Villa Street in the City of Roses. Slotted fifth in a parade of 88 participants, the Bronco Marching Band (one of only 15 high school marching bands in the parade) performed “From Now On” from “The Greatest Showman” for the first mile and then played the song in rotation with Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and “The Hey! Song” from “Dr. Who.” The Bronco Marching Band also performed in the 42nd annual Tournament of Roses Bandfest at Pasadena City College on December 30.
Two Norcross residents have been arrested and charged with murder in the death of the Norcross man who was found dead near the doorway of his home last month.
Nelson Cisneros died near his home on Stanfield Court in unincorporated Norcross on December 15. At the time, police said he had been shot but they had not identified suspects or a motive for Cisneros' death.
On Wednesday, however, Master Police Officer Hideshi Valle said detectives identified Norcross residents Requel Rayshawn Johnson, and Antonio Montez Payne , as suspects. They have each been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.
Gwinnett County Jail records show Johnson was arrested on December 27 and Payne was arrested on Tuesday. Valle said the Gwinnett County Police Department's Gang Unit as well as the Gwinnett Sheriff's Office Fugitive Unit assisted detectives in arresting Johnson and Payne.
The suspects are being held in the county jail without bond.
Police have not yet released the motive for the murder.
Rebekah Blankenship, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Berkmar Middle School, was recently named a recipient of the June Bryant Teacher of Promise Award by the Georgia Council for Social Studies.
The award recognizes a beginning social studies teacher who shows exceptional promise in the field of teaching social studies. Recipients of the honor must demonstrate efforts toward the improvement of student learning and engagement in social studies and implement activities that demonstrate the beginnings of service and foster the development of democratic values and citizenship in the classroom, school, and community.
Additionally, the teacher seeks out and uses multiple sources to enhance social studies instruction while engaging in ongoing professional development. During her first two years of teaching, Blankenship has demonstrated the ability to develop and implement engaging lessons for students, her principal said.
Encouraging special-needs students to become part of the fabric of Jones Middle School has been a priority for Jaclyn Boyce and Ashley Saye for more than a dozen years, but the special-education teachers have cranked it up a notch for the 2022-23 school year.
Boyce, who teaches students with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, and Saye, who teaches students with moderate intellectual disabilities, are both firm believers in getting their charges out of the classroom and into the general student population in an effort to improve their sense of belonging at the Buford school by participating in daily activities.
Starting 13 years ago with the establishment of the Buddies Club, Boyce and Saye developed a host of initiatives to get their students out and about in the halls and they’re constantly seeking out new opportunities for the students to interact with their schoolmates. Buddies Club also includes monthly social events taking place both in and outside of the school walls, with visits to a nearby corn maze and movie theaters as highlights. Other inclusive efforts include having students serve on the student council and as peer leaders, which Saye said gives students a chance to develop and display leadership skills and boost confidence alongside their same-age peers.
Some students — there are about 15 intellectually disabled students at Jones Middle — also visit home rooms to interact with students and teachers, help out in the school’s media center, eat lunch in the cafeteria (or invite students to dine with them in their classrooms) and take part in Connections classes, which Boyce said provides great opportunities for social experiences.
Perhaps the most novel recent initiative has been “JonesDash,” based on the popular DoorDash food delivery service. Several times a week, faculty members place orders for snacks and drinks and students do the rest, writing receipts, tracking down the items requested in the school’s small “store,” delivering the orders to teachers and collecting payments.
Carmen Smith, a Sugar Hill Elementary School advanced math teacher, has been nominated for the 2022-2023 National LifeChanger of the Year Award.
Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, LifeChanger of the Year recognizes and rewards the best K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence, and leadership.
Smith was nominated by her friend and neighbor, Nikki Soroko, for her humility and work in the classroom. Each school year, the LifeChanger of the Year award receives hundreds of nominations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Eighteen individual LifeChanger of the Year awards will be given during the 2022-2023 school year, including:
♦ One grand prize winner who will receive $10,000 to be shared with their school/district.
Four grand prize finalists who will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district.
♦ 10 LifeChanger Award winners who will receive $3,000 to be shared with their school/district.
♦ One Spirit Award winner. This award is given to the nominee whose community demonstrates the most support for their nomination. The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district.
♦ One Capstone Award winner. This award is given to a nominee retiring at the end of the 2021-22 school year. The winner will receive $3,000 to be shared with their school or district.
♦ One Spotlight Award winner. This award is given to a nominee in a specific discipline each year. The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school or district.
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