Community Corner

Five Things to Know Today, Jan. 11

Guaranteed to tell you something you didn't know yesterday.

 

Welcome to Wednesday. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: If you're the betting kind, put your money on more rain. The chance of precipitation is 90 percent, the National Weather Service says, with a high of about 61 degrees and a little wind. The low tonight will be around 44.

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gas prices seem to be holding steady, at least for now. Prices for a gallon of regular in Lilburn range from $3.32 (at , 3950 Lawrenceville Hwy near Lester Road, and , at 490 Pleasant Hill Road at Burns Road), to $3.39 (at , 4785 Lawrenceville Hwy at Indian Trail-Lilburn Road), according to consumer reports to www.georgiagasprices.com.

Puppets get around. It’s winter show season, and the Gwinnett library puppeteers are making the rounds to entertain kids around the county. There are shows going on at many branches this week and next, including Mountain Park today at 10:30 a.m. and at the Lilburn branch Saturday at 3 p.m. Go, watch, laugh, applaud.

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Happy birthday, Grand Canyon. Well, not the formation itself, carved out of ancient rock by the Colorado River. But this was the day in 1908 when President Theodore Roosevelt declared the massive gorge and its immediate surroundings a national monument (national park status followed a decade later). Roosevelt made conservation a hallmark of his administration and said about the Grand Canyon: “But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see." Just this week, a ban on uranium mining near the canyon was issued by the Obama administration. It’s the second-most visited U.S. national park, after the Great Smokey Mountains.

Sweet home? Alabama became the fourth Southern state to vote to secede from the Union on this day in 1861, right on the heels of Florida and Mississippi. Georgia was due to hold a secession convention five days later. Hmm, how would the Georgia delegates vote? Spoiler alert (not): It all led to the Civil War.


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