For the vast majority of the people at the Loganville Fourth of July Parade, it was a great success. The streets were lined with people cheering for veterans. People in the parade expressed their patriotic pride. It was definitely hot, but nobody seemed to care. At the end of the day, a good time was had by all. Sure, there were a couple of hiccups, but aren’t there always? It’s a big event to handle, as only the handlers really know. Isn’t it then sad that it’s usually those who invest the most effort at whom most of the criticism is levied? After such a great event, it is a little …

After an ABC News special last week cited a study at the University of Texas that shows there is a difference between cat people and dog people, this appears to be the question of the week. Dog people are reportedly more extroverted, more agreeable and more conscientious. Cat people are said to be less traditional, more creative and more neurotic. Some people even say that cat people are more intelligent. So what does that say about those of us who are bi-petual? I’m almost scared to ask. I would say I am bi-petual, but I don’t think I was born this way. I was raised with only dogs. My …

In my family, fear doesn’t come in shades of pink – it comes in shades of red. I lost my stepfather to heart disease when he was 52, my mother when she was 69 and my children lost their father to the disease two years ago when he was 59. Heart disease is probably the biggest fear I have. So when Stacy Jones, marketing director for Walton Regional Medical Center, sent me information about next month’s Club Red event, it was a no brainer. This is something that I can certainly get behind. The physicians at Walton Regional Medical Center and Oconee Heart and Vascular Group and the Monroe Junior …

Officials in the city of Grayson are getting an early start Tuesday - and expecting a long night - as they listen to three applicants for the one license available for the city’s first package store. The public hearing on the matter is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. Tuesday, an hour earlier than the usual time. After a successful petition drive to get it on the ballot last summer, the measure passed by an almost two to one margin in November’s election. But that appears to have been the easy part. There are now three applicants for only one license. The city has to decide to whom to award it…

As I was doing some last minute shopping Christmas Eve when I got a phone call that really made my Christmas. It was one of those occasions when everything falls into place and you realize just how much good there is in the world. A couple of weeks ago a got an email from someone in Loganville who was desperate - she just didn't know where to turn. It was a lady who had three children and was also taking care of her elderly mother. She said she had tried to find work but had been unable to do so. She was willing to do anything - has cleaned houses mostly before - but could do other things too…

Doing my school days I was an avid reader – read everything I could get my hands on. Then life got in the way. I can’t remember when I last read anything that wasn’t research for a story I was writing or something I needed to know just to survive life – that is until a couple of weeks ago. I was invited to the launch party for the first book to be published by Gwinnett Daily Post columnist Carole Townsend – “Southern Fried White Trash.” How could I not read a book with a title like that? I came home with my signed copy of the book and plans to skip through it, like everything else I’ve read …

In this era of negativity, when complaining about every little thing has almost become second nature, a random act of kindness can throw you for a pretty big loop.But, indeed, random acts of kindness do still exist. Out of nowhere, a stranger can do something unexpected—and caring—and change your whole outlook in an instant.Each week, Patch would like to feature a random act of kindness in Loganville or Grayson - something that caught you off guard, something that made you say "wow ... the world isn't so bad after all." My shout out to someone came Thursday last week when my husband, Gordon …

The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was sitting up in bed watching the news before heading to work in the newsroom at The Gwinnett Daily Post. I saw the first plane hit and instinctively knew it couldn’t be an accident. I called my editor to let him know what appeared to be happening and headed to the office. By the time I got there, the second plane had already hit and everybody was crowded around the television in the newsroom. That was where most of us spent the rest of the day. We shared shock and tears as we watched the towers come down. We got news updates and did what was necessary to get…

Loganville is considered a middle-income community – typical suburban, small-town America. More than 62 percent of household incomes in the city are over $50,000 a year. So the last thing some might expect to find here is homelessness –- but it does exist. This is the story of one case that came to light recently. It is written this way because the people involved choose not to have their names made public. It started with a Facebook post Aug. 3. The post came from a lady who, for the purposes of this story, goes by the name “Nonnie Mouse.” “Any mechanic friends out there want to do a good …

I get a google alert whenever anyone from the local area is booked into the Gwinnett County jail. Sometimes, they are people I recognized – and I’m usually not surprised. However, I was surprised Sunday when I recognized Justin Garner. I’ve written about him more than once, usually for his support of local charities like Families of Autism/Asperger's Syndrome Care, Educate, Support or for his business investment in the community. However, when I saw the charge – suspended or revoked license - I had a feeling there was probably more to the story. As you can see here, that was indeed the case. …

Herman V. McCart is a Loganville resident who has made it his mission to keep an eye on how government works, particularly in West Walton County. Through his West Walton County Citizens Community Watch, McCart keeps residents updated on what's going on in the local community. After hearing all the news coverage about unnecessary charges on the AT & T telephone bills, McCart took it on himself to correct the situation with his own AT & T bill and shared the experience through a newsletter. He agreed to let Patch share that information with readers who might want to take advantage of these cost…

This upcoming week it will be three months since Loganville-Grayson Patch first made an entrance on the local scene. It’s been a busy three months, but so very rewarding. One of the most exciting things about Patch is that it is constantly evolving - finding new ways to be more user friendly, more interactive and more beneficial to the community. Most of the contributors, writers, photographers and bloggers, are Loganville or Grayson residents so what is important to you is important to them too. I had someone ask if there were plans to provide an editorial page. Although I don’t know if …

For the past five years I pretty much knew what my schedule was for July Fourth - well part of it anyway. How it ended up sometimes varied, but it always began the same way - headed to Loganville to cover the Fourth of July parade. This year it will be different. For various reasons, not the least of which is the current economy and the need for municipalities to be frugal, there was no Fourth of July parade planned for Loganville – and nobody is sure when, or even if, there will be one in the future. Last year was the first year it was held following the death, just a month before from …

If the holidays are wearing you out with little ones under foot day and night now, there is plenty in Loganville today to give you a break – and all of it is in support of some good cause or another. There’s the American Mixed Martial Arts Institute Family Fun day that will provide a bounce house, dunk tank, tattoos and beaded jewelry-making as well as the main event - Nerf Wars. Any proceeds raised for those activities will support either the Harbour Oaks Montessori School in Snellville or families dealing with autism through Families of Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome, Care, Educate and Support…

Sometimes it’s good to find out how the other half lives. I never knew what sheltered lives we lead here in our little corner of the world.  Friday, I had the opportunity to meet up with an aunt who was visiting from Australia. I haven’t seen her for more than 35 years, which is when she and her family left South Africa for Australia. She was one of my favorite aunts growing up - a straight-talking Irish nurse who caught the attention of one of my dad’s brothers during his travels. This week she came and spent a couple of days with my sister who lives in Grayson and I was thrilled to see her …

About five summers ago I covered the story of a missing teen from Loganville. It was a story that made a huge impression on me. It was also one that made me very proud of the community of Loganville. The teen, a 13-year-old adopted boy, had taken off on his bike and his new family was frantically trying to find him. A Loganville resident, Dave Holley, who at that time was chairman of the now defunct Loganville Citizen’s Advisory Council, took it on himself to corral the community to help find the teen. Involved in what became a large community mobilization was Michelle Couch, at that time …

Any senior in the community who misses the monthly TRIAD S.A.L.T. meetings is missing a treasure trove of information. S.A.L.T. stands for Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (and that’s seniors in life, not in high school.) From a journalistic point of view, it will take me a week to get all the information to you story-by-story – but from a senior point of view, I learned more in that one hour than I’ve learned for quite a while. I do intend to get to it, story-by-story, but in the meantime here are a few bullet points that I found of interest and I’m sure you will too. The sheriff’s …