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SNELLVILLE — A former Snellville police officer and an art instructor are currently showing their art in Snellville City Hall.

Watercolor artist and instructor John R. Duke and former Snellville police officer Linda Nixon will have a reception to show their art from 3 to 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road. The Snellville City Hall Art Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at City Hall.

By the time she was 12, Nixon said she was painting with oils on canvas and during her senior year of high school, she enrolled in commercial art and advertising at a local technical college. She said she knew she "wanted a future in art, but also knew I had to pay the bills."

After graduation, she took a job in the art department of a printing company and later worked for several advertising agencies.

In 1993, she started her 23-year law enforcement career.

"Throughout my working years I had to put most of my artwork on hold," said Nixon. "During this time I took a lot of photos of everything I wanted to draw or paint one day. After a few lessons I was painting with ink-based watercolors and I'm still exploring their brilliant color and contrast. You will see in my paintings that I have a love for nature and southern relics."

Nixon is a Member of the Southern Heartland Art Guild and a Master Gardener extension volunteer at the University of Georgia.

In 2005, after being on dialysis and having a kidney transplant, Duke, a 1981 graduate of the Atlanta College of Art, said he now has a new perspective on life and his art.

"I hope it shows in the way I paint and teach others to see the world's natural beauty portraying it through bright transparent flowing colors," he said.

Through the years of creating artwork in many different mediums, he now works primarily in watercolors, but he also does commission works in oil, acrylic and graphite. With watercolors he likes to start with light pale colors, building up layers to achieve more depth, brightness giving the artwork a realistic look, but yet in a painterly fashion, he said.

Duke teaches watercolor on Tuesday through Thursday at Cobble Creek Studios Art Academy in Snellville, founded by Deborah Kepes, and on Saturday mornings at Expressions Fine Art Gallery & Studios in Lawrenceville.

Duke has won numerous awards in art shows and festivals and is a member of the Southern Heartland Art Guild, the North Georgia Arts Guild and the North Gwinnett Arts Association.

SNELLVILLE — Snellville Mayor Barbara Bender is excited to announce that the City Council voted last night to approve The Grove at Towne Center. This highly anticipated town center development has been a part of the city's vision for more than 10 years. Together, with partners CASTO and MidCity, The Grove at Towne Center is now one step closer to commencing construction this summer and opening late 2021/early 2022.

"We look forward to the new community gathering space, beautiful new Gwinnett County Library and educational/business space and The Mercantile," said Snellville Mayor, Barbara Bender. "This new town center will create a sense of place we have been missing."

With this rezoning, the 18-acre project site takes the next step toward breaking ground this summer. The rezoning process includes the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review by ARC and GRTA. Completion of this process has paved the way to break ground on a project that CASTO and MidCity have been working with the City to make a reality.

"All the pieces are coming together on a tremendous public-private development to create a well-deserved town center for Snellville," said Kirk Demetrops, President of MidCity.

In addition to shopping, dining, recreation, and business space, The Grove will also offer residential opportunities, a new Gwinnett County Library, a specialty Market/Event Building and significant common areas . The apartments in The Grove will feature an upscale living experience that will appeal to a wide range of ages and life stages that wish to enjoy the convenience and luxury of an urban lifestyle. Offering walking access to retail, dining, the greenway system, and more, these apartments combine the best of modern convenience with a quiet, peaceful setting.

To learn more about The Grove at Towne Center and to stay up-to-date on the project's progress, visit https://www.snellville.org/the-grove-at-towne-center.

ABOUT CASTO

CASTO, a fully integrated real estate organization since 1926, is a recognized leader in the ownership, management, acquisition and development of multifamily residences, mix-use properties, commercial shopping centers and office buildings. CASTO's growing portfolio currently includes more than 26 million square feet of commercial property and more than 5,000 residential units located throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. CASTO is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and serves a variety of clients from five offices in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. To learn more about CASTO, visit www.castoinfo.com.

ABOUT MidCity Real Estate Partners

Founded in 2009, Atlanta based, MidCity Real Estate Partners acquires, repositions, and develops office, and mixed-use properties. MidCity is known in the Atlanta market for their work on Alpharetta City Center, which was named a 2018 Development of Excellence for Exceptional Merit for Context-Sensitive Town Center Development, by the Atlanta Regional Commission. Through MidCity Realty Corporation, an affiliate real estate brokerage company, MidCity offers a full range of advisory services. MidCity is the successor company to The Griffin Company, a 35-year-old full service commercial real estate development and construction company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. To learn more about MidCity, visit www.midcitypartners.com.

SNELLVILLE – The city is cracking down on business owners who "boot" vehicles without properly warning those who park in their parking spaces.

Following months of complaints from residents who say a Scenic Highway business is unfairly booting vehicles, Mayor and Council approved an ordinance amendment Monday requiring clear signage on any property – every entry and exit point - that employs the practice of booting vehicles.

The measure also requires employees of any booting company to wear a uniform that prominently displays the name of the booting company and to provide for a personal warning to be given to an individual before a vehicle can be booted.

Before a company boots a vehicle, the driver of the vehicle must have received a meaningful "in-person" warning from the employee. The notice may be either oral or written, but may not be made by, "yelling across the parking lot or placing a written notice on a vehicle," according to city documents. The warning should also be made in a cordial, non-confrontational manner.

Violators can be fined up to $1,000.

SNELLVILLE – Solange Destang is the city's newest council member after she defeated Brittany Marmol in Tuesday's Run-Off Election.

Destang, a South Gwinnett High School teacher, won the contest 557 - 401.

Destang will be sworn into office at the Dec. 9 council meeting.

The Run-Off Election was needed after neither of the four candidates who ran for the post Nov. 5 garnered more than 50 percent of the vote. Then, Destang received 567 votes, Marmol got 496 votes. Wanda Blow and Thomas Mwambay tallied 90 and 39 votes respectively.

Destang replaces Marmol's husband Roger who decided not to run for re-election for the seat.

SNELLVILLE – An amendment to the city's billboard ordinance will eventually cut the amount of billboards in the city from its current number of nine.

The amendment governs currently existing, non-conforming billboards on highways 124 and 78. If sign owners completely remove an existing billboard and support structure, they can request to replace an existing billboard with an electric one. The amendment states sign brightness will automatically be regulated with daylight, the signs must be able to show Amber Alerts and there cannot be any movement or animation on the sign.

"We definitely anticipate we are going have a reduction of signs within the city by doing this," City Attorney Chuck Ross said.

SNELLVILLE – A group of area businessmen have stepped up to help a local man keep his wheelchair-accessible van on the road while money is raised for a new one.

On Sept. 20, 2007, Que Crane sustained a paralyzing spinal cord injury playing football and has had to use a wheelchair since. Crane and his family have been using a van since the injury which has seen better days. After hearing about the need for a new van, the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office started a GoFundMe account to buy a handicap-drivable van for Crane who lives in the Loganville area. As a motivational speaker, Crane travels around to schools and other venues talking about his life's journey and about never giving up in the face of adversity. A new van is a must for the man Andrea Alabi, assistant district attorney for the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit, called our "silent hero."

It is estimated a new van will cost about $65,000.

Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead heard about Crane's story and offered to help keep the current van running while money is raised for a new one. Whitehead is an owner of Soesbe's Garage in Loganville which has stepped up to offer 24-7 care for the van free of charge in the meantime.

"It's all about stepping up to help," John Soesbe, also an owner at Soesbe's Garage, said to Crane Monday. "Like I told you, we've got your back."

Soesbe's Garage was joined by Tire Dock, which donated tires, Brooks Towing, which has towed the van for free to Soesbe's when it wouldn't run, and Autozone, which donated parts.

"It feels good," Jamey Towler, of Tire Dock said. "I feel great to be able to do it. God expects us to take care of each other."

Crane expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you all," he said. "I appreciate all your help."

To donate to help Crane get a new van visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1speyng8mo?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

SNELLVILLE –The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to City of Snellville by Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

The Certificate was awarded to Snellville Controller Jan Burke for preparing the award-winning CAFR. This is the fourth time Burke was given the award in the four years she has applied for it.

"It is vital for the citizens of Snellville to trust the city with its finances," Burke said. "This award was given to us for making sure those finances are reported accurately and carefully, a responsibility we are proud to have."

The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.

Government Finance Officers Association advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 20,500 members and the communities they serve.

Mayor Pro Tem Dave Emanuel was one of the graduates from the 2019 Region 3 Multi-Day Training Program hosted by the Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.

Participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from ten counties.

"This series of classes provided excellent, useful information, much of which can be applied to Snellville," Emanuel said. "In addition to classroom presentations, we saw first hand what other cities have done to attract new businesses and support existing businesses. Each city's situation is unique, but there is a common thread of assessing the current business and community environments, formulating plans to improve them and putting those plans into action."

The Academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels.

Created in 1993, the Academy assembles a cross section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all 12 service delivery regions in Georgia.

"One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation," says Kelly Lane, director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. "Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue."

The Academy's multi-day program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development. Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.

SNELLVILLE – Early voting for the Dec. 3 Run-off Election is ongoing and will end Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m.

The hours of early voting are each weekday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road.

During the original Nov. 5 vote, the Post 2 contest did not see any of the four candidates receive more than 50 percent of the vote needed to win the seat outright. Now, the top-two vote getters - Solange Destang (567 votes) and Brittany Marmol (496 votes) - will square off Dec. 3 to decide the winner of the seat. Marmol's husband Roger decided not to run for re-election for the post.

During the Nov. 5 election, incumbent Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Dave Emanuel defeated challenger Cortez Riden 989 to 211. Mayor Barbara Bender did not have a challenger in her race and notched 1,093 votes.

Early voting for the December 3, 2019 Run-off Election will begin Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 8:30 and end Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at 4:30. The hours of early voting will be each week day from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

El voto anticipado para la Elección de Segunda Vuelta 3 de Diciembre 2019 comenzara el Jueves, 21 de Noviembre 2019 a las 8:30 a.m. y terminara el Miércoles, 27 de Noviembre 2019 a las 4:30 p.m. Las horas de voto anticipado serán cada día de semana dentro de las 8:30 a.m. hasta las 4:30 p.m.