Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

This is Mendel, but he goes by Ollie, I think most often by his, foster. And, I wasn't able to put this picture on, but there's a really cute picture of him with, an elf, which I really should have added to this because he took professional photos with an elf. I assume they're professional photos. He's three years old. He's fifty three pounds. He's very snuggly. He gets flawless reports from his foster, so this is a dog that is currently in foster care. They didn't have any pictures of him with other dogs, but I'm told that he does well with other dogs. He's not a fan of cats, but that's okay. Not all dogs do well with cats, and it's good to know that.

He's very snuggly. He's a fast learner, really eager to please, and likes to learn new things. So hopefully he can get into a home very quickly so that the foster can take another dog.

Thank you. Thank you for sharing. If anybody wants to adopt a dog, there's two of the hundreds at the shelter. Alright. Next, we will move on.

Can I just mention something really quick that you We you do have kitten season coming up? So I we I don't know the date exactly yet. I think that it is a date scheduled for April to do a kitten shower to sort of get ready. We're amping up for a lot of the little neonate kittens come in, and those guys need help right away. Major Dwyer and Lawton's teams, they also need support, and these are guys we've had some officers in the past who have just taken the, like, the tiny little guys home with them for the night.

But our bottle feeding fosters, in particular, are true lifesavers during this time of year. So tell your friends to get ready for kitten season. If anybody's willing, we do hold regular bottle feeding classes, and we'll be getting that scheduled throughout the summer while we amp up for for the little guys to come in.

And what's kitten season in case folks don't know what that is?

It's I mean, in this time of year, it seems like it starts now as soon as it's warm and it goes through, I swear, the end of the year but but yes, it's traditionally, it'd be more of the summer but it is it's it's been extended the last few years.

It's just a time where lots of kittens are born. Tons of kittens born. And they come to animal services. Needing help. It's really critical that we have, I mean, we wouldn't be able to do it without just the giant core of, fosters and volunteers who do bottle feeding. Kittens have about neonate kittens with if they don't get immediate care, they have like a fifty percent survival rate. It's it's really really low. So, we have to be able to jump into action and it takes a, it takes a village. It takes an army.

I know also with our fosters too. I mean, we we would really really struggle without fosters but truly they'll come in sometimes at 08:00 and we've gotta figure out a plan for them right away. It's not something where we can put off and see how they do through the night. They have to have immediate care. So having as many fosters willing to go so that we can reach out all the time really a major life saving piece for the little ones.

Really quickly, speaking of kitten season, I know you guys Lifeline have a fantastic, graphic. It's basically a flowchart

of what to do when you

find kittens. Could I lodge a friendly request that you guys use the Fulton County social media to publicize that? Because I'm already running into a lot of people who find kittens and don't know

what the heck to do. Yeah. I think that's a great idea. Yeah. We can do that. Thank you.

Alright. And with that, we'll move into the public comment. We did have a speaker's list. Mister Lawton, you

have that one? Or mister Law?

Yes. So, madam chair, we have three speakers, for today. Just a reminder to speakers, citizens are allowed to voice county related opinions, concerns, requests during public comment portions of the animal welfare board meeting. Members of the public will not be allowed to yield or donate time to other speakers. The public speaking portion, of the meeting will not exceed fifteen minutes. For your first speaker today, you're going to have Adriana Solakapi Folli. Please step to the podium.

Mister Law, what's the do they have a time limit for

Yes. My apologies. You have two minutes to speak, and your time would be displayed on the screen.

Oh, sorry. I was just saying my name, is Adriana Sola Capofale. I came, about a year ago, little bit less than a year ago. I was asking for help from my foster dog, Ranger. I wanted to give an update on what happened to him. I struggled with him. I was asking for help. That's why I came here. I got some help from the foster team, but it didn't come fast enough. He had two incidents in the clinic, it was decided that he needed to be behaviorally euthanized, which is sad, but I think it's an opportunity for us to examine inconsistent policies.

I feel like there's a Tuesday meeting about who's gonna be euthanized, who's on the urgent list. This was made within, it seemed like, a few hours. There was no communication between the vet, foster team, myself. I was referred to a trainer that had sent notes to the clinic. She was not brought in. There were recommendations about medication he should have been taken off and put on. And the incident at the clinic probably wouldn't happen if there was an opportunity to reassess what medication he should have been put on. Lane told me he should have been on one medication. The vet tech said that's not true. They kept him on trazodone.

He had an incident. I was willing to continue to foster him. I was told numerous times to bring him back. I wasn't gonna do that. I was gonna take care of him. I was looking for a trainer that I probably would have to raise some money for. I just never got the time. So my question is, why is there not a dog behaviorist on-site? And in in cases like this, I understand there's lots of dogs. He wasn't an easy dog. I get it. But I was there to foster. I was looking for options. And if we could have maybe had more time, if he maybe could have been given a second chance. He didn't come from a great background. I understand. But I do feel like he fell in the cracks. So thank you.

Next speaker is Caitlin White.

Hello. My name is Caitlin. I have a couple different concerns for different people here. I guess one of the main things I'm concerned about is that there are still far too many court case dogs in the system. Seems like we talk about it every meeting, but they're still around the same number there were when I was here last year talking about it.

There's a specific case that came up on its three year anniversary earlier this month, and I believe there's been no activity since May 2024 on that case. Maybe y'all could look into that one. There are also still at least five puppies that are under a year old part of court cases, that are suffering in the shelter. I think maybe those should be prioritized. To Lifeline, I think you guys should be a lot more public about some of your policies, specifically about behavioral assessments and behavioral euthanasia.

What happened with Ranger was really upsetting, and I feel like similar situations continue to happen. To animal control, there seems to be no way for Fulton County residents to follow-up on cases and reports they've made. I had a report I made earlier this month. I was told to call the shelter to follow-up, and I left a voice mail. But as a volunteer, I know that those aren't really monitored.

So some way to follow-up on calls would be great. And then to Dream and to the Department of Emergency Management, it's ridiculous that it's taken this long to address the play yard flooding. It would also be nice for you guys to address the flooding on the walking trail behind the play yard. And if it's gonna take another year to come up with a solution, perhaps you could let us walk the dogs in the paved area in the front. That would really be appreciated. It's just really frustrating as a volunteer trying to walk dogs when it's just muddy and dirty and diseased back there.

Thank you.

Your final speaker will be Lisa Jones.

Hi everybody. Long time livestream listener, first time attendees. So first and foremost thank you to all of you guys. You give so much of your time and energy and passion to these animals. So so appreciate you being here and doing this. Mine's a little redundant. Caitlin touched on it. It's about the court case animals. As a tax payer and a lifeline volunteer, I appreciate everything that everybody's doing for the court case animals. I know that major Dwyer mentioned that I've gotta read from this because I've got a lot of people watching this, and I'm not gonna live it down if I botch it.

A majority of the dogs are in the hundred and eighty day bucket, and that's a hundred and eighty days of taxpayer funding and a hundred and eighty days of dogs deteriorating. Right now, as Caitlin alluded to, there is a dog that's sitting in here twelve hundred days, which is complete insanity. The dog's beyond beyond placeable. There have been huge improvements by major Dwyer and her team. The surrender in the field training, I think we've seen an uptick in surrenders for that reason.

And then the hiring of the solicitor's general office that is major, and I'm so excited for that. But there is one lever that we're not pulling, and the scope of that lies with the county attorney's office, its and cost of care petitions. There is no reason to not pull that lever and work with the solicitor's general office to get that done. I think right now, the average the average taxpayer funding for these court case animals is approximately $250,000 per year. And I'm not saying that we could get all of the the court case animals surrendered. That wouldn't be right. It's not appropriate in every circumstance. But certainly in some of these situations where it's a cut and dry what's that? Okay. Where it's a cut and dry situation, there's no reason not to pull the lever of cost of care petitions.

So I implore the county attorney's office to use it, and the taxpayers are watching it. So thank you for that.

Madam Chair, that concludes public comment.

All right.

Thank you everybody for attending and sharing your comments. With nothing else on the agenda, I will move that this meeting be adjourned. Could I get a motion to adjourn the meeting?

Motion to adjourn.

Second. Second. Can I get a second? Second. Second by Katie Factor. So all in favor of adjourning this meeting at 07:05 on March 30?

Aye.

Aye. Unanimously voted. The meeting is now adjourned. Thank you everyone for attending.

That we could leave behind us.

If love was a melody, I'd want you to sing to me in that voice that whispers my name. If the world was a dance floor, I'd walk you shore to shore while the steel and twin fiddles play.

I guess you're really going off to school. Mom, I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now,

Dad, I never really did like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together. Yeah. Me too. I love you too, dad.

When you can't do it all, do what you can. Compassion for others, pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Sharing. Pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Where's Tommy? Tommy? Don't stop. Keep playing.

Here we go. Here's the fun part.

Encouragement. Pass it on.

I believe kids ought to stay kids as long as they can. Turn off the screen, go climb a tree, get dirt on their hands. I believe that days go slow and years go fast. And every breath's a gift, the first one to the last. I believe most people look good and most mamas ought to qualify for sainthood.

Looks. I believe most people look good. I believe most people

kindness. And what if we live with a heart of kindness? What if we love like we've been loved? If that's all that we're remembered for, well, let that be enough. So when they stand and tell the stories of who we are and what we've done, of a thousand things that we could leave behind us.

That voice that whispers my name. If the world was a dance floor, I'd walk you shore to shore while the steel

I guess you're really going off to school. Mom, I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now,

Dad, never really did like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together?

Yeah. Me too.

I love you too, dad.

When you can't do it all, do what you can. Compassion for others, pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Sharing. Pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Where's Tommy? Tommy? Don't stop. Keep playing.

Here we go. Here's the fun part.

Encouragement. Pass it on.

And what if we live with a heart of kindness? What if we love like we've been loved? If that's all that we're remembered for,

well, let

that be enough. So when they stand and tell the stories of who we are and what we've done, of a thousand things that we could leave behind us. But if we live with our kindness, what if

If love was a melody, I'd want you to sing to me in that voice that whispers my name. If the world was a dance floor, I'd walk you shore to shore while the steel and twin fiddles play.

I

guess you're really going off to school.

Mom,

I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now,

Dad, never really did like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together. Yeah. Me too.

We're honored to have the kids from Cooper Middle School here as part of our at risk youth program to part upon the kids the good things about the, criminal and civil justice systems and how they can be a part of it as as they grow and develop as students.

I served on the Fulton County grand jury. And while I was serving on the Fulton County grand jury, I I met a few friends along the way. I just asked that, hey. Would it be possible for me us to bring some of the students down here so they can see what you guys do, see the ins and outs of the court system. Because we have several students that are interested in law and government, and they want to just know how it works, anywhere from being court officers to all the way to being judges.

Talking to the judge and just knowing that he gets emotional, and, you know, he has to put certain people in jail, give him life, just to know that he actually has thoughts and care.

If you have a good attitude and do good things, you won't get in trouble.

It's my honor to do this. It's my way to give back to the legal profession and also to grow future leaders, people that to encourage people to to enter the legal field in some way, shape, or fashion.

So in response to the opioid epidemic, the county was very proactive in ensuring that our residents within Fulton County had access to care, that they were aware that we are attempting to address the issue that has been presented before us and that was the opioid epidemic. In response to that we implemented an opioid coordinator, an individual that specifically focuses on all things opioids. Through that we implemented a text for help program which is throughout all Fulton County schools and what this program does is that we've set up a confidential text line where if an individual student is experiencing an array of emotions, it doesn't matter, there are no limits, they can text this line a mental health professional will respond to them within two minutes from the time that they send the text message. So within the Fulton County Behavioral Health Network we also have a partnership with the City Of Atlanta through Partners for Home and that is a permanent supportive housing initiative and what our agreement is is that Fulton County will collaborate with the City of Atlanta on the development implementation and the provision of supportive services for five fifty supportive housing units, which is a very exciting initiative because we are taking the unsheltered transitioning them into shelter.

In addition to that, we are also providing them with the necessary support so that they are successful within their new status as being sheltered because the transition from unsheltered, which previously was tagged as homelessness, going into a sheltered environment where now you have a permanent home, sometimes you are in need of that necessary support to make sure that you're successful. So Fulton County in collaboration with the Board of Health, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Black Cross received a grant to increase health literacy within Fulton County as a result of COVID. So this was a post COVID grant to ensure that our community was equipped with information and knowledge around their health, because what we found during COVID is that more people were experiencing depression and anxiety. So with through this grant, we were able to implement strategies to increase the community's awareness around mental health as well as other health related matters. We were able to purchase a mobile unit.

So now you can see us floating through the community that says help is here and we truly mean that help is here. It also asks a question, a very important question, are you okay? So if your answer is no, just know that help is here. And it's okay not to be okay, but people just need to acknowledge where they are in that space and reach out for assistance. So the best way to obtain additional information in reference to Fulton County Department of Behavioral Health and any other department within Fulton County because we do a lot of great work is to go to our website at www.fultoncountyga.gov.

So through our Behavioral Health Network, we are able to ensure that the residents of Fulton County have access to behavioral health outpatient services for adults. Once again those services are rendered by Grady. In addition they are rendered by RiverEdge on behalf of Fulton County government. Our child and adolescent services are through our collaboration with CRIS one hundred eighty and Georgia Hope. Our permanent supportive housing initiative those services are offered by Step Up on Second and River Edge.

Our reentry services are offered by CRISS180 that focuses on our emerging adult population and our reentry services that focus on women is offered by Women on the Rise. Through our Behavioral Health Network we also provide school based mental health services which means that we place a clinician within Fulton County Schools to ensure that our students have access to care and that their school day is not disrupted to leave to go for an appointment when they can access that therapeutic service right there on campus. Those services are offered by our partners Summit Counseling Center as well as CRIS one hundred eighty. It's very important that all residents realize that the Fulton County Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities we are here to serve. We are asking the question are you okay?

If your answer is no just know that help is here.

My name is Brianna Botsford, I'm your host, and welcome to the Library Access. The Fulton County Library System continues to create engaging programs that inspire creativity, learning, and connection across our branches. This month, we're celebrating the incredible impact of our volunteers, exploring innovative tech programs for teens, highlighting special artists, and taking a look back at some exciting events that happened across the county. We begin by celebrating the heart of our library system, our volunteers. The Fulton County Library System recently hosted a volunteer appreciation event to recognize the dedicated individuals who give their time, energy, and passion to serving our community.

From supporting our programs to assisting patrons, our volunteers play a vital role in helping our libraries thrive. Let's take a look.

In terms of importance and influence nationally and even internationally, Fulbright County does a great job in spite of what you might hear. And one of the things that I am most proud most proud of that we're directly responsible for is our public library system. I believe it's the finest in the country.

Such thing is something that, oh, it's just a small little jump. It's the sacrifice of your time, which is so valuable and so precious, and the things that you do to help people.

Our volunteers truly make a difference, and we are grateful for their continued support in helping us build stronger, more connected communities. At the Best Buy team tech Center, creativity and innovation are on full display through programs like three d printing and drawing for homeschool teens. This hands on program introduces teens to the exciting world of three d design and printing, where they can turn their ideas into real, tangible creations. Let's take a look.

So the three d printing for homeschoolers program at Central is just one of our many homeschool programs we offer. Each week, we offer something in three d printing. We invite homeschool students ages 13 to 17 to come in and learn how to use the software and then print whatever they wanna print on a three d printer. I think three d printing is popular because the idea of bringing something to life from a computer and then you get to go home with it in your hand is just, you know, it's a neat idea. Of course, it's fun and you get to practice your creativity, but you also get to practice some other skills, a little bit of engineering, math, and science, learning how to use the software to actually create your model, and then you get to see in real time the three d printer make your design.

Of course, learning the software itself is a skill because there's lots of different ones. We use Anchormake, which is one of the CAD softwares. It's pretty simple to use if you aren't proficient in making models. We also just kinda put you on a website where you can download a model just to get you started with ideas. And then of course, you get a problem solving skill.

So say for example, the three d printer, it doesn't print correctly, it's not sticking to the bed or you don't have the scale right, you have to go back on the computer and you just gain all of these different skills, learning to think for yourself and then also being creative at the same time. Generally when you're three d printing, it depends on how big your project is. So it could take anywhere from hours to days to thirty minutes to an hour. For this program, for something about the size of maybe a quarter, that could take under fifteen minutes. For something that fits in the palm of your hand, it may take an hour or two.

For something maybe the size of like a remote control car, for example, that could take several hours to a day or two. Depending on your project, we recommend coming in as early as possible or even emailing us to work to print your idea out before you get here so you can pick it up. We think it's important to offer this three d printing program to homeschoolers specifically because a lot of people have the idea that homeschool students are just at home and they don't get to interact with anyone or anything outside of what they do at home. But this program is just one of the many ways that they get to continue learning outside of a traditional school. So we think it's important to just provide these types programs to help them continue their learning.

Summer reading is coming up at Central Library and the Teen Center has a lot coming up. One program we really want to bring up is Geek Squad Academy, which gives the kids ages 10 to 18 the opportunity to explore with the technology we have here in the team center as well as more. So you can learn photography and coding and robotics. You could learn how to make music, and it's gonna be over the course of three days, and then you get to become a certified junior agent at our kickoff, and you get your certificate. So we invite you to come out today.

If you have questions about programming or different opportunities at the Teen Tech Center, you could reach out to us at (404) 613-0259 or email us at libraryteentech@fultoncountyga.gov.

Opportunities like these empower teens to build confidence, develop new skills, and prepare for future careers in technology and design. Be sure to visit your local library to learn more about teen programs and upcoming events at the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. Art and creativity are also on display at the Central Library with the Artist Corner exhibit. This featured showcase highlights the work of talented artists that brings a unique perspective through their work, offering visitors an opportunity to experience a diverse range of styles, stories, and cultural expression. Let's take a look.

I am Chanel Anjali Reyes. My exhibit is called Inheritance of Joy. I am a mixed media artist and multidisciplinary as well. So not just a visual artist, but a spoken word artist. I have a poetry, book, and also a designer, interior design.

So, I am fairly new artist compared to artists that have started in childhood. My first medium was writing poetry and then photography. During the quarantine, I hit a very hard writer's block, and I felt like being an empath and a very sensitive person already and tapped into my emotions that I was going to, like, explode. And my friend who's an actor said, you know, if you can't write, like, you write such beautiful things, like, why don't you try putting it on Canvas? Like, why don't you try putting, like, clip, like, letters from books and put it on canvas and, like, mix it all together to get your feelings out.

So being having a show in a library is kind of, like, the icing on the cake because my work really starts most of them usually start from searching and scouring the Library of Congress images. My name is Reynilda Blair.

I'm in Studio C here at the Central Library. Well, I was born in The Dominican Republic, Bonnell to be exact, which is right in the center of Doctor. Usually, you would think of the beaches, but I'm from the mountains and the and the rivers of Doctor. I moved to New York City when I was five. As I grew older, I started connecting more to my Dominican ancestry, and you can see that a lot in my artwork.

I try to paint things that that gets people to really dig deep into who they are, and I kinda expose myself by doing that. The library does feel very comforting. It's quiet, so it's, like, perfect for painting, honestly. I'm in the corner, so I do see people walk by, and I I almost feel like I'm on display while I'm painting as well, which I used to care about, but now I don't because I feel like art needs to be experienced either way. So I love when people come and they ask me, did how you do this? How did you do that? And they can actually see me do it, which is actually really cool.

My name is Bonita Martin. I am in Studio B in the Central Library. I am a sculpture artist. I've been sculpting in general for about twenty years, but I started with the, water based clay medium for about maybe seven to ten years. I started with flowers.

My neighbor was pulling flowers out of her yard, and I thought I thought, oh, wow. You know, her flowers look great to me. So I'd have her kids bring me all of her old flowers in the trash bag, and I started to encase them in resin, put them on card cardstocks, and I started selling them as cards. So most of my art is based in the mental health arena. So there are things that we go through every day that I noticed, that pertain to mental health.

So when I see it, I just usually have to sculpt it. I love being here. I love being in the library. One thing that I've noticed is that a lot of the people who, not only visit here but work here have approached me and they said that they love that there's art in the space. And a lot of times you don't realize, and it's not just the artist that we have here now.

One gentleman said that he loves that when the art changes and there there are new faces in and he just gets to see art when he's on his way to work. And I think I personally think that art in spaces that you don't normally see art has such a great impact on people in their everyday lives.

I am Carly Descarbo Vazquez, Central Library Studio a. My artistic style and process is interdisciplinary, which means mixed media. I use all different types of materials. I started off as a painter. I started mixing a lot of digital work in with my traditional painting work. And then I was able to marry, like, the old way of doing things with the new way, and they meshed well together. So hence, I do a lot of mixed media and interdisciplinary work.

Being in the

library is, like, the best experience ever. The reason why is I'm an educator. So a lot of times when I'm telling students or when I'm talking to people, I don't like to just talk. I like to have facts to support it. So guess what? We in the library. So when I do the whole concept of the real tea, if I tell you a fact for instance, I have the Edo sisters as part of the work that I'm doing, which are women that were of Japanese culture, but were women of color. But it's not something that I'm just telling you and making up. Go look at them because we're in the library. It's that information is readily available.

Same thing with history, with, you know, different types of things that I use with technology. It's not a mystery. It's we are here in a resource, we're a hub. So I feel like not only is my job as an artist to just entertain or make it look beautiful, but to educate.

These exhibits are currently on display at the Central Library through the month of May. Be sure to visit to experience the artist corner in person and support these incredible artists from our community. April had some exciting highlights that are worth mentioning. The Milton Library hosted its annual Milton area library convention better known as MAOCON. It was a high energy celebration of fandom, creativity, and community, bringing the electric spirit of fan convictions right to the heart of Milton.

The entire library was transformed into a hub of panels, workshops, and interactive activities for fans of all ages, bringing in over a thousand people to the Milton Library in a single day. The excitement continued as the Fulton County Library System celebrated the National Library Week, which happened from April 19 to April 25. To mark the occasion, the Board of Commissioners issued a special proclamation honoring our incredible library workers. Their dedication is what keeps our library system thriving. So a huge thank you to everyone in the Poulton County Library System for all of your hard work.

It does not go unnoticed. Whether it's through technology, storytelling, or community celebration, your library is a place where ideas grow and connections are made.

Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites Division is a division of the Department of Natural Resources that manages the 64 state parks and historic sites in our state park system. The Georgia Parks and Historic Sites Partnership Pass is a pass that library cardholders can check out through their local libraries that allows them to come visit the state parks and historic sites free of charge. When patrons visit a state park or historic site, there's multiple things that are offered. Every park is different, but you can hike, bike, several offer boating opportunities, fishing, and then many parks have opportunities that are specific to that site. At Panola Mountain, we have a unique ecosystem called a Menadnock that we offer guided hikes on.

It is the only state park that has this kind of rock. We also offer biking opportunities on our seven miles of trails as well as archery classes and two different archery ranges. Our nature center is the heart of Panola Mountain. It's one of the first things that visitors will see. Throughout the center, we have taxidermy mounts that are close to 50 years old and still in amazing condition that show animals that are native to the Piedmont Region where we are located.

And we also have currently, we have two live snakes and two live turtles that are on display as well and those are also used for programs. Here at Panola we do a lot of programming. We offer homeschool classes. We do creature feature where you can meet some of our resident animals. We do guided hikes, archery, summer camps.

We occasionally offer kayaking programs, just a little bit of everything. It is really important for Georgia citizens and visitors to visit our historic sites and state parks because they are a gem of the state. We have an incredibly unique history and ecology here in Georgia, and one of the best ways to explore it is to visit these parks where that land and history has been preserved. So when you check out your Georgia State Parks and Historic Site's partnership pass, you can taste the water at Indian Springs, see the mill at Sweetwater Creek, go visit the animals at General Coffee. Almost every park is part of the junior ranger program that visitors of all ages can become a junior ranger and earn a pin from each park.

And we also have our passport program through the Friends of Georgia State Parks where you can get a booklet, and every site has a stamp that you can collect from that site. It's just a good way to take advantage of the partnership pass and get out and explore and find more things to enjoy and collect. If you would like to learn more about any of our state parks or historic sites, you can visit the website at gastateparks.org, but we also offer a booklet that has information about each park and historic site. Our historic sites are an amazing resource. We have everything from pre Mississippian site, Native American sites, all the way through colonial and civil war and even past that history.

So you can see museums. You can see ancient artifacts. They do living history demonstrations, we have some working farms, so a lot of different views into history. Go to your local library today and check out a Georgia State Parks partnership pass and see what you can discover.

Join the Fulton County Library System for a special community reading celebration with our twenty twenty six one book, one read selection, the last one at the wedding, by bestselling author Jason Rekulak. This annual countywide program invites readers across Fulton County to share the experience of reading the same book and connecting through conversation. In this gripping suspense novel, a father attends the lavish wedding of his estranged daughter, hoping to reconnect. But the celebration slowly reveals unsettling secrets about the groom and the powerful family hosting the event. Pick up a copy of the book from your local library and join the discussion at one of our 34 library branches, hosting book conversations and programs throughout the community.

Then celebrate the story in person at Central Library on Saturday, September 19, for a live conversation with Jason Rekulak, moderated by award winning journalist Karen Greer of WSB TV. Meet the author, hear behind the scenes insights about the novel, and stay for a book signing after the discussion. You can also watch the event live on our Facebook and YouTube channels.

If you'd like to stay up to date on everything happening across the Fulton County Library system, be sure to subscribe to our biweekly e newsletter. You'll receive updates on upcoming events, new materials, staff recommended book lists, program highlights, and more. Visit fullcolibrary.org to subscribe today. Thank you for watching Library Access presented by the Fulton County Library System. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at Fulcolibrary and visit us on fulcolibrary.org. I'm your host, Brianna Botsford, and I'll see you next time on the Library Access.

We're launching the Administration on Aging's Volunteer Service Project. So this is a national conference that's here in Atlanta for the next few days, and we're just really excited that we've had almost 40 professionals from across the country, aging services professionals, wanting to take our ACT training, avoid cyber threats training, back to their communities.

Cybersecurity is not something that they go to. It comes to them in their home. And so knowing how to detect it, how to keep themselves safe as they enjoy the Internet, it's very important.

Listen. If we're talking about on a scale from one to 10, I would say it's, like, out of 15. Because even though we were learning different information about cyber threats, about phishing, about different scams. I think the one of the most beneficial things today was that each participant was able to share examples and share their stories, past information, as well as networking. And I think that is, like, one of the most important parts when you have individuals that work in the same space from different programs across the country.

Security issues are gonna come with people who are asking for critical information. And if you don't give it to me, it's gonna be a critical situation take place. It's gonna be urgency. So critical and urgency are, like, two red flags that we wanna push to make make people aware that this is this is how they come and get you.

Well, the whole conference as a whole, I am currently working with seniors, but it's always been my goal, my dream. And so just learning more about what people in this area are doing and kind of, like I said, trying to take it back home and see what we can do there. So especially seeing things like this where, you know, it's clearly working for you guys, people love it. So just learning more about that and what I can do, to help and bring that kind of thing back where I'm from.

Very, very excited. Thankful for the partnership with Sage Navigator, with the OnAging Conference, all the attendees participated, very, very grateful for what occurred here.

Well, We've had a great day here at 4700 Northpointe in Alpharetta. A lot of people will think about place when they think about this, and well, they should because so many services are gonna be under one roof.

We had the ribbon cutting finally for the new Health and Human Services building. It's such a joy today right here in District 1. I'm so happy for the citizens of Fulton County, but particularly for District 1 and District 2. The North Fulton has slacked many, many services. Closest facilities often are at Sandy Springs.

Sorry. We started talking about this, some of my colleagues back in back in 2018, and we stumbled upon this particular facility. It felt perfect. It felt right at that time. Board of commissioners had the wisdom to agree to purchase this facility. It just sort of took on its life of its own. After that point in time, we had a vision and a concept that's sort of changed and morphed over time.

This represents a labor of love for Fulton County. Fulton County is saving the taxpayer money. Let me tell you how. Fulton County bought this bill building, I believe, in 2019, $11,000,000. Today, it is valued at about $50,000,000. So that alone was a very, very smart move on the part of, Fulton County.

So many services are gonna be under one roof from senior services to behavioral health to public health to even vital records. But the real added benefit are the people, the employees of Fulton County that will be here ready to serve, smile on their face, and in close proximity to all of the residents of North Fulton. We haven't had that. We now do have it, and it's just a spectacular facility and a great day in Fulton County.

Hi. This is Shay Alexander, your Fulton County Clerk of Courts, and I have a public service announcement today, y'all. Be careful. These scams, these scams, these scams. Whether it's about a traffic ticket, whether it's about jury duty, whether it's about someone being booked in the jail, when they're asking for money, please don't click the link. Please call your local authorities about whatever it may be, but do not, do not send anybody any money when it's in reference to something at Fulton County. We don't call and ask for money. We don't ask for Zales. We don't ask for Chime. We don't ask for Cash App.

So please be very, careful when you get these text messages, these emails, or these phone calls. If they call you or text you about someone being booked in the Fulton County Jail, verify the information with the Fulton County sheriff. If they're calling about a traffic citation, contact Melissa McCord in the city of Atlanta or the state court of Fulton County. And if they're calling about jury duty, call the jury clerk with Fulton County in court administration. Verify the information before you send anybody any money. I am Shay Alexander, your Fulton County Clerk of Courts. We just want you to be safe. So hashtag do not click the link. Do not send any money. Have a great day.

We're having a community health day for the Fulton County new building in North Fulton. People who come here know that they can get the best quality of service. So particularly for environmental health, we have a new building, new life, just a new attitude, and we're gonna continue to serve the, citizens of Fulton County.

Well, the biggest advantage is that it's actually here in the North Fulton area. They don't have to go towards Sandy Springs or downtown to get the same type of services that we offer in the city.

It's clean. It's well kept. It's new. It has a good vibe in it. It has a good aura to it. You feel like you're gonna walk into somewhere that's gonna actually support you. This is a community that's considered to be high value. And when you come in this area to try to find something that is feasible for the community that may not be able to afford the high value, this opens up that parameter and allows them to see that although I may live in an area and I may not have as much money as the others, I can still get the same care.

People with their kids, parents, seniors are coming here to check out the new facility. It's great. We're just trying to get the word out that we're here, and we have lots of help to offer.

The expectation is that we have a program new program. The program's growing. So just be patient. We're hiring staff. We're hiring key staff, the best fit for this location. So we plan to hopefully meet our goal by May 11, But in the meantime, we ask that they be patient.

We're having a big day. A lot of people are coming out, families, kids, just to see what we have to offer, and the feedback has been fantastic. And so we're just having a good time here in Alpharetta.

We have now some elbow room to kinda stretch out, do what we need to do. They also expand the capacity of of files that we may have. Come see us. We're here. We'll love to serve you. Come check out the new facility.

Welcome to Inspection Central, your trusted guide to the latest restaurant inspection scores in Fulton County. The diligent efforts of Fulton County Environmental Health Services ensures that more than 6,000 food service establishments maintain the highest standards of safety and cleanliness. By promoting proper sanitation, investigating concerns, and minimizing potential hazards, EHS plays a crucial role in keeping our community healthy. This dedication to excellence continues to make Fulton County a great place to dine.

Well, we've had a great day here at 4700 Northpointe in Alpharetta. A lot of people will think about place when they think about this, and, well, they should because so many services are gonna be under one roof.

We had the ribbon cutting finally for the new Health and Human Services building. It's such a joy today right here in District 1. I'm so happy for the citizens of Fulton County, but particularly for District 1 and District 2. The North Fulton has lacked many, many services. Closest facilities often are at Sandy Springs.

Sorry. We started talking about this with some of my colleagues back in back in 2018, and we stumbled upon this particular facility. It felt perfect. It felt right at that time. Board of commissioners had the wisdom to agree to purchase this facility. It sort of took on its life of its own after that point in time. We had a vision and a concept that's were changed and morphed over time.

This represents a labor of love for Fulton County. Fulton County is saving the taxpayer money. Let me tell you how. Fulton County bought this bill building, I believe, in 2019, $11,000,000. Today, it is valued at about $50,000,000. So that alone was a very, very smart move on the part of Fulton County.

So many services are gonna be under one roof from senior services to behavioral health to public health to even vital records. But the real added benefit are the people, the employees of Fulton County that will be here ready to serve, smile on their face, and in close proximity to all of the residents of North Fulton. We haven't had that. We now do have it, and it's just a spectacular facility and a great day in Fulton County.

I'm Fulton County Commission chairman Rob Pitts here with an important public service announcement about the upcoming May election. The deadline to register to vote is coming up fast on April 20. Now regardless of who you plan to vote for, your party affiliation, or where you're from, check your voter registration via the secretary of state's my voter page. Visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov to ensure you register. Now if you haven't registered to vote, I got good news.

There's still time before the April 20 deadline. You can do so online by visiting the secretary of state's website at sos.ga.gov. If you have any questions or need assistance, you can call the Fulham County Department of Registration and Election, (404) 612-3816. And your right to vote is too important to wait until the last minute. Check your voter registration today before the April 20 registration deadline.

The people that helped us, very professional, friendly. I had a wonderful experience.

We're giving out information about Fulton County Animal Services. We're also giving away portable dog, water bowls and also doggy poop bags.

We know this is tough time. And so what happens in tough times, the first thing that happens is that you have to give up the pet or you have to miss that vet appointment or you don't have enough money to pay for that rabies certificate or whatever it is. And so this is our little way of giving back to the pet lovers like me in Fulton County, making sure that they're seen. We have not only volunteer venerance on-site, we have services, microchipping. We have resources, something as small as pet food and dog food.

A lot of our seniors cannot afford that. Thank you. And so they really do look forward to this event every year. And I'm so excited to be able to partner with Lifeline and do what I call a love in action from Fulton County.

Response is great. We had actually, our first pet owner was here at 2AM, they said. We got here about six, 06:15, and there was already a few people wanting to get in line. So the need is there. The excitement is there as well.

Thanks, Boynton County.

These events are important because we're providing access to vet care that people otherwise don't have, whether it's because of the cost of vet care so expensive. That's why we do it for free. We do have our events in different parts of Bolton County to try to help local residents so they can get here with transportation. And, yeah, we're excited to have everybody here.

Welcome back to Talk Fulton. I'm joined here with Laurie Stallings, our Atlanta Downtown 2025 artist in resident who is a collaborator with Boyana again. Laurie, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Thank you so much for having me and all these beautiful people at Fulton County. Yes, it's not often that I'm sitting in a chair, and so thanks for having choreographers be a part of this journey.

Thank you. Yes. It was one of the first movement incorporating projects that we got to tackle, so I'm excited to dive into it with you. If we could start out by just talking about when you first became aware of the Public Art Futures Lab and what drew you to wanna apply for this residency.

Thank you. I think I became aware of it. I had some work happening here in downtown over the last few years and then your presence in the community and your arrival. And I'm a goat farm artist, a lifelong resident of the goat farm. Doctor.

B and I had spoken and for a few years prior to this engagement had dreamt about perhaps working together. And yeah. So when this when this iteration came around, I reached out to her and said, you know that project we have that keeps falling through systems and and and the the, I don't know, the calls. What if we what if we sort of turned it inward and and stayed at home with it because we had imagined it would be elsewhere? So it was such a it's been so thrilling and illuminating for me to open up this live moment space that I am obsessed with and have spent my life in total immersion to liveness and to work beside Doctor.

B who was so immersed in her own way in the technology body. So that's a little bit how we got here.

Yeah. So I would love to have you talk about Glow, how they are also an I don't know if you wanna say they're an extension. They are part of your practice that you brought to this project.

Yeah. Glow is the main house for my work. And so rather than it being Laurie Stalling's work, I wanted to to create a an alternative, a hybrid platform that's artist led. And so GLOW actually is a Dutch term means to witness a unique event, G L O. And so all of my work has a house, a container, and that's GLOW.

There are all these small, small, nimble aspects of glow, incredibly fluid, incredibly shape shifting. And one of the constant aspects is I have a team of moving artists that I that I I oftentimes find myself in the studio sweating and talking to myself and mumbling as you would come through and see and working super swiftly in this very generative way to build choreography. My own practice I've is spent sixteen years now writing a vocabulary of movement as a choreographer and it is always mysterious and always humbling and I'm so grateful for every opportunity I get to share my work.

You came into this space and physically transformed it. Not only did we have natural elements that were coming in from your home, flowers, beautiful smells and herbs and things, but you also attached harnesses to the ceiling of our space and underground. And can you talk about what sparked that? Yeah. Thank you so much.

First, there was a there was a a hint at the technology. And as I began to like enter into that world, my sense of gravity shifted. So one of the first vignettes for your lab was that there was this apparatus involved that would offer a tethering that went through the technology but was live and there and in the flesh in the role. And so, yeah, it did change everything about the residency. And from that moment on, and it happened very early in the residency, so I am interested in how it sort of echoed and of swarmed around the whole work constantly.

And even now, that sense of, like, being being bound and and lighter and the feeling of feeling lighter right now in the world really influenced the choices that we made and also the choices that I made with my team of moving artists. I think it influenced Doctor. B as well. And yeah, there's always gravity involved with my work. In fact, it's like my friend constantly being a choreographer.

When we get into this technology space, we maybe think that we're moving too quickly to think about these raw forms and one of the aspects of my practice is to slow us down. And that's where gravity and this sense of floating and flying could happen in your space. And, yeah, I'm really grateful for that. Our our production manager would show up, our our fierce production manager, Rick Carvlin, and and, you know, rig the situations. And then we got to we got to play with intention and a lot of pleasure with a lot of effort as well.

Yeah. So for the friends who weren't there, there was a projector mounted in this to the top of the ceiling which was able to project downward onto the movement artists who were in this floating apparatus and engaging at times with an installation that Laurie would build of plants and flowers and soil. And it totally came through as far as the, you know, otherworldly experience of being lighter. Mhmm. Yeah.

And I wanna get into the technology part because you did exactly what the residency hopes to do, which is to open up new skills that could be coming. So you had you had some you did some real experimenting with motion tracking cameras, projection, projection mapping. Do you wanna talk about that? You don't have to

here. Yeah. It was so thrilling, and it is thrilling. It's in process, and and and thanks to you and thanks to the lab for being a place. I look at it now as this communal ritual that's a place for belonging versus a place for production or spectacle.

And that's for me a real treat because oftentimes I'm commissioned and that means that I have to produce this thing. That's extraordinary and it's a great high and it keeps me very tired and active in my practice. But this was something else for me to be in a process and be present and never once be pressured to have a finished product. And so that's where with your nudging I really found a moment where Doctor. B and I in this place of embodiment and her technology of cellular space and the live body of my work and how intuitive it is.

It's very much happening in the moment. In a choreographer all we have is the moment and the people with us. And so I was curious if there was another avenue for me at that juncture and Doctor. B was incredibly generous for me to invest in that live moment. And that meant I had to sort of detour in our shared residency space and that meant that I found and researched and became very much you know, I went back to kindergarten and I'm still there, just to let you know.

But really enthralled to continue. So that is right now, technology is moving so quickly and oftentimes technology is generating movement. My question was what about movement generating technology? And there are a few systems out there and they all come from a choreographer and his name is Wayne McGregor. And and thanks to McGregor, this question wasn't answered.

It's just now a series more questions and more. But we have been able to explore these like intuitive moments and how the technology sort of like grasp that moment and also the not just the shapes but the actual kinetics of the movement and sort of becomes a collaborator with me. My work is of various scales and sometimes very large scale and sometimes just like a little dot on the floor. And I feel like now there's like a seventh or eighth moving artist in the studio with me and that's the technology. So, yeah, so movement generated technology is thrilling.

And I think that as choreographers, as we dive deeper and go deeper into fully emotional moments, the technology can sometimes see things that I can't. And I love that. I hope that was

a Yeah. Bit of a

Just getting started. It is a whole different thing but you know it has found itself in the work and all of my work is site based and so suddenly the technology is site based in the live body. And that was the curious thing about being at the underground with you and the lab. Was like, we're here at the origins of Atlanta and we're under. And so there was a familiarity in that and a nice, once again, just huge well of questions and awe as an artist.

Yes. Thank you so much. Where will we be able to see more work from you in the future? Is there anything you want to tease that we'll be seeing from you?

Thank you so much. I have a new work that's going to head down Peachtree this summer. It's a waltz for the sidewalks of Atlanta. It's called City Waltz, Holy Waltz. I have a work that's heading up north to New York and then coming back down here, and it's called Hush.

And it's really, really such a juicy, large scale three year work that will travel to a lot of rural communities around Georgia, around Fulton County. I live in a rural community, the small community of Palmetto, Georgia. Just Union City, Fairburn, Palmetto, there we are. So I'm oftentimes taking my work to places that are familiar and that are a sense of home. And I'm returning to Marignac Lentour, which is rural France.

If you draw a line from Atlanta and parallel to that is France, a small community there that is in development with their ancient valley, the Jordania. So I think that's a little bit of where I'm at. A lot of research right now and head back into the studio this weekend for the waltz and I hope everyone will join us. It happens to be at a very climactic time for Atlanta. A lot of preparation coming for just a beautiful swell of beautiful strangers coming to our city.

And if you come to a certain street, then you can follow us for about a mile and a half waltzing every day for eight days. So the dates are

They'll be on your website?

Yeah. They will. They will be.

Great.

Yes. June. It's in June.

Great. Yeah. Right before well, right at the World Cup entrance.

That's right.

Amazing. Great. Well, thank you so much. And also we look forward to seeing the videos that will be in Downtown Atlanta. You'll be seeing little artifacts from this project. So we're excited. Mhmm. Thank you so much talking with

me today. Thank you, Kathleen. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Talk Fulton. Be sure to check out the other videos of our artists in residence, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Hi, everyone. I'm Lashandra Little, voter education and outreach manager for the Department of Registration and Elections. I'm here to inform you about our upcoming primary election. This is a very important election that will be held on 05/19/2026 to determine who will be on the ballot for our election for our state and local offices. The voter registration deadline for this election is April 20.

Early voting will begin April 27 and continue through May 15 with the election day again being on May 19. I encourage you to go to mvp.sos.ga.gov to check your status to ensure you are indeed still registered to vote and that your address information is correct. This will be your opportunity to update that information. You will need to do this by April 20 in order to fully participate in the election on May 19.

Welcome to another special episode of Talk Fulton. My name is Kathleen Brown with the Public Art Futures Lab. I'm joined today with artist Boyana Ginn, Atlanta Downtown Artist in Residence. Hi, Boyana. Thank you so much

for being here. Hi, Kathleen. It's a pleasure to be here, and thank you for inviting me. Thank you. So I would love to talk about how you first heard about the residency.

What drew you to it to apply? Hi. So as an artist who work with art, science, and technology, I knew for the futures lab for a long time, probably around five years. And I actually met Alex in my studio in Midtown. And I always knew what you guys were doing, but actually it was Laurie who alerted me to this opportunity because for couple of years, we've been trying to find opportunity to work together. And so I was like, deal. I'm all in.

And so you applied with Laurie Stallings as a collaborator.

Yes.

And why did you think that the pairing would have interesting results?

Well, first was just admiration for what Laurie is doing. I knew her work for a very long time. And I actually looking at her dancers, I I had these images in my head. I fantasize, like, how maybe some projection work could be incorporated with her practice. So that was just a you know, as somebody who used to be a medical doctor

Mhmm.

And then scientist and then artist, I am always very much interested in the body and inspired with the body. And having dancers, right, looking at the dancers through the eyes of art or eyes of an artist. It's something that inspires me a lot. And then Laurie just inspires me with her philosophy. And so there was just kinda feeling that something good can happen there.

And to dive into your practice specifically, you already touched on your interested in projection, but also you've done a lot of work with sensors. Yes. And then materiality is really interesting to you.

Yes.

Do you wanna dive into, like, what your practice has been, what people may know you for in Elena?

Well, thank you. Yes. So merging art, science, and technology, I am creating large scale sculptures, installations. These installations are usually immersive and lately interactive. I also create photography and painting that kinda come as artifacts of what's happening in the installation.

And in the last five years, I've been working more with my medical background, exploring the subjects of signs of happiness, biometric sublime, orchid dreams. So thinking about the health with technology and with art. And the the health part is there is like a this new discipline called called neuroaesthetics. Mhmm. It it's a study of aesthetics, how color, texture, rhythm influences our well-being.

And that's something that actually it's a perfect blend of my background. And so I've been studying that and, like, for example, with the latest work called Biometrics Sublime, I take the heartbeat and the breath and turn them into immersive visuals that are calming that like, when people go inside the installation, they can just kinda breathe in and out and they can feel, you know, that their body relaxes and that they notice better or concentrate better possibly have this feeling of awe which always was a sublime of the nature that we see outside of us. But now there's, like, something within, right, that we can visualize, this internal body cosmos. And, yeah, bringing that into collaboration with Laurie, it's been very exciting.

Yeah. I think that channeling of a calming kind of community feeling is what drew Atlanta Downtown to your application. You talked about bringing that sort of something that would bring us all together in a universal experience to Downtown Atlanta.

So how

did the residency then, like, respond to inform what ended up happening? Your flower is a reference to one of the yeah. If you wanna dive

into that. It's it's a fashion 2026, but it's also you know, when we came together, we we had one idea. We we applied with signs of happiness, right, which was something of work that I've been doing for five years now, and it resonated with Laurie and her explorations of nature and body and movement. And she's gonna talk more about it from her perspective. But, like, through conversations, conversations, some new ideas sparkled.

And we were talking about this unity of everything and entanglement, right, of her practice, of my practice, of what is happening on the stage and then what is happening in the audience. And then naturally, like, we each find a place what we will develop further. And something that I liked that happened during the first vignette or first installation was having the practice open to public. So there were couple of people from the public, visitors, who came and used the heart beating sensor. And the sensor would basically take their heartbeats and translate it through the projection into this immersive liquid digital painting that was projected projected onto the bodies of glow.

Mhmm. Right? And so so I really like that moment of connection of the audience, of what's happening inside the body together, you know, becoming art that joins an amazing artist who works with her dancers in the center of it all. And that's something that really resonated with me. So I decided to do a second vignette with a little bit different colors and different visuals. But I guess to concentrate on on this element of public becoming a part of the practice.

Mhmm. And with that moving forward, have you seen any sort of impact in how you're approaching projects differently with kind of what you've picked up from this project?

I think I think it just becomes more clear. Right? You you start with it. I mean, I already had a couple of of, like, second installation of signs of happiness did include audience, and I really like that communal atmosphere. But the video sensor, it becomes more personal. Mhmm. It becomes like, you know, you we don't really think of these automatic things that are happening inside of our bodies. Like, heart is always beating. Right? We always breathe.

But, like, when when through art, you can discover, oh, this is my heart or my breath, and it's doing something and can become something. I guess, to answer your question, it just reinforced what I've been already doing and making it more clear what I want with technology. And that was really great for me being a part of Future's Lab, having the space there, collaborating with Laurie. Everything kinda came together.

Yeah. Part of the residency is that you're able to use the studio, and it seemed like y'all would come together to work parallel. And then when you had time to come together

Mhmm.

You'd be sharing reflections. Is that how you felt like you used the space?

Yes. And I love that couch. You know, we would sit there and we would talk and it was fantastic. And it it's just really, you know, having a space within the city is always a challenge Mhmm. For artists like, know, real estate is, how to say, rarely affordable.

So having it having this dedicated space for us to create a magic to be free, having the help of yourself and the team, and the lab also have so much equipment and then you can connect us with people Mhmm. Who interested in technology and possibly create you know, collaborating with artists. Like, it's it's a very helpful environment.

Thank you for saying that. So your work that you and Laurie did together Mhmm. There will be an artifact that is shown on digital signage, and then there's a possibility we'll see, you know, something more that formed out of this project. Mhmm.

I don't

know if you wanna say anything more about that because we're kind of, like, teasing it. But is there more going on in your practice that we can see in the future coming up for you?

Yes. Well, yeah. Both Laurie and I, we are open for magic to happen again, and we'll see, fingers crossed. For myself, I'm very excited about this largest to date sculpture that I will be doing at the Folio Building that's going to be open for World Cup that's happening in a city, and that is in collaboration with Cat Eye Creative. I'm super excited about that project because I've been dreaming of big sculptures for a long time, and I had couple of opportunities to do it.

But this scale is, you know, for a sculptor, very exciting. And with amazing team from Georgia Tech, We are making this art science technology project that's gonna go across the ocean and internationally into like, a wonderful space in Korea. And there's lots of things brewing, and I will let you know.

We're so excited that you were able to be in our space before, you know, you launch and move into the next thing. People can find more about your work at your website Yes. Which we'll share. And then we always ask if artists want to pass on a nugget of wisdom to other artists.

And I don't

know if you wanna frame that in artists who are approaching public art or just, you know, something that you like to share with artists if you have anything.

Oh my goodness. The first thing that comes to mind is it breathe in, breathe out, and be authentic. Do not worry about competitions or, like, today with social media, I think, we have a window into so many practices that, like, just, you know, last decade, you would not know. And sometimes I think for artists, they they have they think that they have to accomplish so much and that competition is overwhelming. There's no competition.

There's no com there is a space for everybody, not just an artist, for every human being. There's a space. So just concentrate, you know, on your life, on your work, on your well-being, and everything else will come into its own place.

Awesome. Thank you so much for bringing your responsive artwork and making us all pay a little bit more attention to what's going on inside of us. I really appreciate you being here.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Up next, we'll be joined with collaborator Lori Stallings who worked with Boyana again on this project. Thank you so much for watching. Stay tuned.

We are celebrating IDD Awareness Month. This is our last event of the month, and we're celebrating adults with special needs who we support in our three IDD training centers. So this is their celebration. We're showcasing their talents and their gifts, and we're excited to invite people in to come and celebrate.

Many times our population go and look and you just assume that they don't enjoy these type of things, but they really do. And this is a yearly event. This is our fourth actual. And it just gives our individual opportunity to express themselves and sing and dance and enjoy the whole festivities that we got laid out for them today.

And not only does it bring awareness to IDD month, has been great for recognition for us, but this is just simply a day of joy from start to finish.

The staff at Central and all the training centers are just absolutely incredible.

They don't do it for a paycheck,

they do it for the love of the clients that they serve. And I love them all because they have really helped my son. It's a very, very good environment for him.

This event always, always brings me joy. I can walk in the door, stress, overwhelmed, but you know what? I'm able to escape during this entire show. So I thank every single participant in the talent show for bringing me joy, and I know they brought you joy. I know that each one of you will walk out of here with a heart filled with joy.

Our community involvement is growing. Our partnerships partnerships are are growing. Growing. Our Our enrollment is growing, and we are so excited that we have our new South Center. We're moving into the new North Building. We're gonna be doing some renovations to our central location. Everything is just on the path towards greatness right now.

We're honored to have the kids from Cooper Middle School here as part of our at risk youth program to part upon the kids the good things about the, criminal and civil justice systems and how they can be a part of it as as they grow and develop as students.

I served on the Fulton County grand jury. And while I was serving on the Fulton County grand jury, I met a few friends along the way. I just asked that, hey. Would it be possible for me us to bring some of the students down here they can see what you guys do, see the ins and outs of the court system? Because we have several students that are interested in law and government, and they want to just know how it works, anywhere from being a court officers to all the way to being judges.

Talking to the judge and just knowing that he gets emotional, and, you know, he has to put certain people in jail, give him life, just to know that he actually has thoughts and care.

If you have a good attitude and do good things, you won't get in trouble.

It's my honor to do this. It's my way to give back to the legal profession and also to grow future leaders, people that to encourage people to to enter the legal field in some way, shape, or fashion.

So, AFSIBA is an emergency management agency, so it stands for Atlanta Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. And, we have four primary missions. It's preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery from disasters or any other large scale emergencies.

My name is Destiny Ruffin. I serve as the emergency management captain here at the Atlanta Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, better known as AFSCMA. What most people don't know is we're the local version of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which

is FEMA. We're the local aspect of it. We report to the state and then to FEMA, and we are that coordination piece for residents to get assistance. The Multi Agency Coordination Center, also known as the MAC, is where multiple agencies come together for one mission. So whether it be for a planned event like the Peachtree Road Race or an unplanned unplanned event, the MAC is there to help support those that are out on scene, the incident commanders of various locations, and then also to coordinate resources and personnel among those different sites, especially if there's multiple sites within the county.

The MAC is the one that really decides what resources go where based on priorities, based on, public need, anything like that. So it looks at the big picture and helps coordinate information and all of the resources that are needed.

Hazard mitigation. The county is required to have a hazard mitigation plan federally approved every five years. So every five years we go back and we try to figure out what hazards are most prone for Fulton County. Currently, we have a lot of severe winter weather as well as flooding and also recently more of a heat wave has become more of a

hazard than we expected. So we track crisis through multiple platforms. We have situational awareness displays, throughout our emergency operations center that we can display, any news footage. We can display cameras, helicopter feeds, WebEOC, and any other information that allows us to gather a full picture of what's going on and to help coordinate those resources and personnel. Most people don't remember people's phone numbers.

So start off with a family communications plan. That basically means you've written out all the important numbers for your family to have just in case you're not able to contact someone. But also create a kit. Sometimes emergencies happen, you have to run out of your home, and it's good to have something like a go bag where it has your medicine, maybe have some important documentation, might have some non perishable food and water, so it's something you can be able to have. I always encourage also residents to inform your children and get your pets involved because they're a part of your essential, a key essential to your family. We always say plan, make a kid, and also stay connect with some form of notification system even with via social media or even from the faculty system.

We have various supplies in the warehouse. We have supplies, still from COVID response. So, maintaining a ninety day, PPE supply supply is critical for the county if something else were to happen. We also carry supplies for immediate response. We have bottled water. We have cots for sheltering. We have tables, chairs, cones. We have light towers. We have message rooms. We have all of this. It's really designed to respond to the first forty eight hours in the event, until other contracted resources can come in or until state and federal resources can come in. So the county currently uses the Falcon system, is

a Everbridge system. This allows residents to be able to, get alerts, but you can also manage what alerts did you want to come to your phone. Do you want it to come via cell phone? Do you want it to come via email? Or do you want a landline phone? So we're giving residents the options to opt in and opt out of certain alerts they would like.

So that's what the faculty assistant uses. Generally during a disaster, if it's declared, there's a lot of assistance available. If it's undeclared, assistance is very limited. So for instance, let's just say it's a large emergency, so a large apartment fire, we will bring in Red Cross to provide monetary assistance, and then also to assist with sheltering if that is needed as well. If it's a declared disaster though, we actually have, two different types of declarations.

We have a public assistance, which, is actually kind of contradictory to how it sounds, but that's really to get government, and resources back on their feet. So it's debris clearance, it's, infrastructure, it's emergency protective measures, things like that to really respond and government recovery to get community lifelines back in in service.

It really depends on the disaster or the incident. Typically, if we get federally declared, that means federal funds become available, and that allows us to be able to support. For instance, we recently just had Helene, hurricane Helene, and back in September 2024. That particular incident will allow for individual assistance, so that means your homeowners, your renters, to be able to apply for rental assistance and assistance for their improvement of their home if they hadn't already gotten assistance from their insurance companies. But that typically varies depends on what kind of assistance we're gonna get. Typically, we don't have a big pie of money or anything like that, but we also lean on some of our partners like United Way and the American Red Cross as well as the Salvation Army.

Recently, there was legislation that was put in place that mandated that local law enforcement emergency management must approve all school safety plans. So we really take a look at those plans and work with our school districts, both Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools to make sure it's covered. We don't necessarily dictate what is in their plan. That's up to each individual school and each individual district. But we help them with that planning process, so we give them guidance on what should be in there. And then we also have, through GEMA, Georgia Emergency Management Agency, a list of requirements that they must have.

I always encourage our residents to, create a plan, build a kit, make sure you connect with your different type of social media outlets as well as your news source or any kind of have a way to get information just in case of an emergency. But they can also follow us on social media. We try to be very active on there. You can follow us on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Instagram at AFCEMA.

We're here to discuss one of the greatest challenges teenagers face socially today. It's something almost everyone has heard of

and likely experienced at some point, peer pressure. Peer pressure is when you choose to do something you wouldn't otherwise do because you wanna feel accepted or valued by your friend. In fact, eighty one percent of teenagers experience peer pressure, either directly or indirectly. If you're an adolescent between the ages of 13 or 18 in 2025, it's very likely that you've experienced it yourself.

Although peer pressure can sometimes have positive effects, it can also be very dangerous. Positive peer pressure may encourage a friend to trial for a new sport or work harder in school. Negative peer pressure, however, pushes someone to do something they're uncomfortable with or don't want to do. It's important to stay true to your values and make thoughtful decisions.

Peer pressure can show up in many different ways. Teens may feel pressure to engage in illegal activities like drug use or risky behavior such as drinking and driving. Too often, we've seen tragedies in

the news that could have been avoided if peer pressure hadn't been involved. These headlines should serve as reminders of the serious consequences associated with peer pressure. Social situations, especially parties, are common environments where peer pressure occurs among teens. Research shows that twenty one percent of teenagers have used an illicit drug at least once due to peer pressure.

While engaging in these activities may seem like a good idea or a way to fit in at the moment, many of them have long term consequences. Early addiction or other harmful behaviors can negatively affect a person's future, including their health, education, and relationships.

Many teens who have experienced peer pressure say that these situations can be very difficult to escape. In the moment, it may feel awkward or uncomfortable to say no, especially when friends are involved. Because of this,

there are simple strategies that can help. One effective approach is having a go to excuse, such as saying your parents need to pick you up, that you have practice or work. These excuses can help you remove yourself from a situation quickly and safely.

It's also important to surround yourself with people you trust, people who respect your boundaries and won't pressure you into making bad choices. At the end of the day, you have autonomy over your decisions, and it's always your right to say yes or no.

Remember, just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean you should too. The potential consequences often outweigh any short term benefits.

And from the Fulton County Youth Commission, thank you.

Imagine this. Your phone rings. It's your teen's phone number. But when you pick up, it's not their voice on the other end of the call. There's been an accident. Your child was in that car. At that moment, nothing else matters but your child's well-being. This isn't just a nightmare, it's reality.

Teen driving deaths often come down to one thing, unsafe habits. Teenagers often develop bad habits such as speeding, not wearing seat belts, forgetting to stop at signs, and taking sharp turns. Individually, these habits don't seem too severe, but practiced over time, they can significantly increase the risk of teen accidents.

But what if one app could help change that?

The Fulton County Youth Commission is partnering with DriveQuest, a new app designed to address unsafe driving habits in teenagers.

DriveQuest automatically detects when a trip starts and ends, recording every turn, acceleration, and stop using GPS path tracking to measure distance and speed so you can actually see how well you drive and how that evolves over the ride.

For parents, a simple dashboard shows every trip, every score, and every indication of real progress. And this is just the beginning. With every mile, DriveQuest's AI systems get smarter, more accurate, and more effective at keeping you safe on the road.

Using new technologies, we can lower the rate of teenage car accidents and prevent Fulton County teens from becoming new statistics. With DriveQuest, every drive is a chance to protect what matters most.

Stay aware. Stay safe.

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the FGTV podcast, Talk Fulton. I'm your host, Tracy Flanagan. In this episode, we're talking to members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office about how they get out into the community. We're joined by the commander of the community Unit, Captain Lattimore. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Well let's start by talking about what the mission is for community engagement.

Yes, so our mission at the Fulham County Sheriff's Office is service. And so what we do, we go out into the community and talk to seniors, we talk to elementary school kids with different programs that we lead through our Georgia Highway Safety Program, which is our bike and safety pedestrian. We go into different events that are around Atlanta, around the 15 municipalities that we have within Fulton County as well. So wherever there is an event, nine times out of 10, we're there.

When people think about the sheriff's office, they might think about the Fulton County Jail, the Fulton County courthouse, deputies executing warrants, enforcing the laws, etcetera. But with your mission, you're building bridges in the community. Can you talk a little bit about that and why it's so important?

So, well, as you stated, there's always a negative connotation to law enforcement across the board, right? And so our mission is to go in to make a difference or give another out look on law enforcement to paint a different face. Whenever we go into the schools we always say that we're not coming to take something away from you, we're coming to impart something. So wherever we go we're making sure that our mission is in the forefront which is to serve them in any way possible.

And what about the Citizens Academy? I understand that that's been very popular and people will be signing up soon for that.

So it starts, I believe, August 11 through September 29. It will be every Tuesday from 6PM to 8PM. They get to see all of the facets of the sheriff's office from the jail to law enforcement to court services, things of that nature. They get to see what we do on a day to day basis and get to see an introspective look on law enforcement, especially the sheriff's office. Because a lot of people believe it or not don't know who the sher iff's office is, you know, they don't know that we are a little different from the police office, right, or police departments, but we're sheriff's office.

And so we get to explain all those good things to them and it is a very popular program. We I'm getting emails now. When does it start? When does it start? When does it start? So it does start August 11 from six p. M. To eight p. M. Every Tuesday for eight weeks.

Wow. Wow. Wow. And you made me think about those differences and people need to know that the sheriff of Fulton County is the high sheriff

That is correct.

For the state.

That is correct.

Now, the chaplaincy program is more behind the scenes. How is that benefiting and deputies in general

and staff?

So of course, you know, with situations that may happen that may be a little detrimental emotionally, so like for instance a death, where it be a death of an inmate or a death of a deputy or what not, they're there to support in any way possible, spiritually, mentally, to sort of kind of give encouragement to the officers, encouragement to the inmates who we now call residents. So they're there to support them in any way possible. So they are behind the scenes. Even when we go to events, sometimes they're out there as well. Someone may need prayer, someone may need some sort of encouragement, they're there to do that as well.

Now one of the other events coming up would be the Bikeathon with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Tell us a little bit about that.

So we've been actually partnered up with them for quite some time now and so basically that program we have with the Georgia Highway Safety, we have to go into about 10 elementary schools to teach them about bike safety tips as well as pedestrian safety tips to the elementary school kids as well as to seniors as well. And that's a part of grant that we receive every year. In order to keep that grant we have those stipulations that we have to do and we definitely take joy in it. We've gotten so many reviews and so many requests to come to different schools to actually teach that particular class.

Are there moments that you've experienced as a deputy sheriff, as captain,

that

touched you the most as it relates to community engagement?

When we get calls, emails, face to face accolades as to we're doing a great job. At the end of the at the end of the day, that is our mission to, of course, serve. But when you get that one, it's always that one that comes back to say thank you, that one that you when you go back to that school next year, they're saying, oh, the kid last year is not causing any more issues because you guys came out to talk to them. Right? It's those moments that keep us going that that says, alright. Let's let's let's keep this program running or let's do something different even because it's those things that matter.

Well we certainly appreciate all that you do.

Yes ma'am.

And thank you, thank you so much. And as we mentioned, community engagement has many facets.

Yes.

And we have another interview coming up and we're going to talk more about what's available for youth. Spoiler alert, the Junior Leadership Academy for the junior deputies.

Yes. Yes.

Yes. So we'll talk about that.

Alright. So if you'll stay

with us, we'll be right back. Thanks to all the students for your hard work and participation through the modules to bring you that brings you here to the closing ceremony today. Congratulations to graduates. Thank you parents for your support as well. And we look forward to continuing to support this program in years to come. So thank you.

Being a part of Leadership Connect made me eligible for the Youth Ambassador Program and also being able to apply for the Summer Youth Leadership Institute. And although I did not become a youth ambassador, I was able to apply for the Summer Youth Leadership Institute. And that was like a really great experience for me. I did the one at Emory, the Summer Youth Leadership Institute, and we took a lot of field trips. We went to the Coca Cola Company. We went to Cox Enterprises, and we got to have firsthand experience into, like, investing and the marketing world and the business world. And it was really great to have that firsthand experience into what I may wanna do after college.

I would say that twenty first Century Leaders has been really nothing short of transformational for me. I really wouldn't be here or where I am right now without my time in this program. And I think this program is, like, the definition of what you put out. What you put in, you get out. And so it's extremely important for people to realize that there are opportunities in front of you and you have to invest time in them to make the most of them and this program is like a perfect example of that and Leadership Connect is an amazing way to people who are like minded, who are driven, and you have to use that opportunity to build your network.

It all started sophomore year when I got involved with 21CL. I actually came to this event before being aware of all their other programming and it was really crazy realizing all the different pathways there are to connect with others and improve my leadership skills. And since then, I've gone to two programs, health care and Sealy, which have been great. And I'm a youth ambassador, which has been even better because I've been able to connect with other youth across the state and plan programming, which has been great. And I'm a GYLA winner, so that was really exciting to see that all my hard work has paid off.

What I'm definitely gonna take away from it is basically how to be a problem solver. Because everywhere you go, you know, there's a problem. There's something that needs to be solved or fixed, and I'm gonna step up, try and take the responsibility of as a leader and actually solve that problem and make sure to get do all my words.

You know, her mom and I could not be proud of her taking advantage of the opportunity and to see it all come to tonight. And so very proud of her to have gone through this program.

Welcome back. This is the FGTV podcast, Talk Fulton. I'm your host Tracy Flanagan. We've been talking to members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office about what they're doing in the community. Now we are joined by Sergeant Bynum. Hello. Thank you for being here.

Thank you for the invite.

Always a pleasure and I understand that your concentration is what you're doing in schools. Tell us about this Junior Deputy Program.

Our Junior Deputy Program is just like your traditional Explorers Program. We take our youth ages 11 to 17 and we give them an inside look of what it looks like to be in law enforcement. Whether they're interested in law enforcement or they just need something to do for the summer, we love to show them exactly what the sheriff's office does. We take them to the jails. We take them to the courthouse. We let them speak to judges so they always have wonderful questions for them. And we also do fun things with them. So I think the last year, we took them to Six Flags, so that was fun for them. But it's always an inside look of what leadership means. That's our main thing.

We want to teach them how to be leaders. That's what the program is about.

Let's dive into that a little bit more. Talk more about the focus being leadership and building this next generation.

Absolutely. It's so important to pour into our youth. They are our future, correct? So we want to give them as much knowledge as we can. We want to make sure that they understand what it means to be kind, what it means to be truthful, what it means to be a leader. So we hone in on them about what it means to have discipline and what it means to have a battle buddy to hold each other accountable. We want them to be the best that they can be. So we teach them. We pour into them. We love to just build them up from wherever they're starting at. We want to make sure that they're being the best version of themselves.

Now you said something interesting. I know what this is, but tell our audience what a battle buddy is.

Our battle buddy so, you know, we never go anywhere alone. Whether we're executing warrants, whether we're working on the floors in the jail, whether we're in the courtrooms, we always have a we we call it a battle buddy. And the term, because law enforcement is paramilitary, we get that term from military. A battle buddy just means somebody that always has your back, somebody that, holds you accountable, somebody that makes sure that you're doing the right thing. So we want to make sure that they always have accountability partners.

About how many schools do you go into and which school systems are we talking about?

Ms. So we touch Fulton County Schools and we touch the Atlanta Public School System. We touch every school well, we try to touch every school in Fulton County. So all 15 cities, regardless if it's Johns Creek, Milton, Palmetto, we try to touch at least one school in every city. The number of schools that we've done just this year alone has to be around about 30.

We know it's so many, but we try to at least get into every school, whether we're doing carpool assistance, whether we're doing a bike and pedestrian safety class, or we're doing career days. We're making sure that we're staying in the school system so that they see us. We love doing carpool assistance because it's a different face in the morning. We love to give them encouragement. We love to send them on their day. They're like, Oh, what are you doing here? We're here to give you some encouragement. We want to make sure that you have a great day. So we love doing things like that. One of

the things that just makes my heart smile is the Shop with a Sheriff program. Tell us about that.

Our Shop with a Sheriff program is also one of my favorites as well. We partner with defects. We partner with our school counselors to try to reach those underserved children. So the children that might not have a a wonderful Christmas, we wanna make sure that we're reaching out to our social workers, our school systems, and we reach those those children. They're able to come and receive a 150 to $200 gift card, and they shop.

We pair them with a sheriff or a sheriff deputy. We pair them with somebody from the office, and they get to shop. They get to have a fun filled Christmas

and we love it. So you all are busy year round? All year round. We never stop. Well, the business of the sheriff's office never stops. Absolutely, it does not. Not the holidays, none of that snow days. Of that.

Okay. Now

I understand that you have a military background. How does that shape what you do as a deputy sheriff?

I love to serve. Our mission, of course, is service. I feel that serving in the military gave me a sense of purpose. And when I was coming out of the military, the only thing that I could think of that mirrored that service was law enforcement. Only it gives you a it gives you a more in-depth or more personalized sense of service.

So whether we're in the military, we're serving our country, at a whole, you don't necessarily see the people who you touch versus when you're serving in law enforcement you get to touch these people every day. You get to impart on them something every day. I get to help people on a more personalized basis and I love that.

Well I admire what you're doing and you're really making a positive impact in Fulton County and beyond so we really appreciate you. We appreciate your support. Well thank you, thank you. Now we are going to turn our attention to seniors. The community engagement unit does a lot for our senior community and we'll have more about that when we come back. Stay with us.

And we are here for two reasons. Number one, to celebrate drinking water week, where we celebrate all the lovely people who are working in our facilities and creating clean, safe water for our residents. We're also here to celebrate homeschool day. We have homeschool students from all over Fulton County coming out here, learning about our water, and also participating in a drinking water filtration activity.

I really just love water and seeing how it's made and the physics and the science of how we get wasted water into our daily drinking water.

I heard about it through the management company. They were actually at a local pickleball event, pickleball tournament. So we had been talking about it at his homeschool, and he was asking about filtration of water and where it goes, and you're telling him to turn off his water while he brushes teeth. And then why do I have to do that? And we're like, we'll go learn about it from the source.

Public service. Alright? The community outreach, interacting with the kids, the youth, and and just letting the community know that we're here. You know? This is one of those jobs that no one really knows that we exist until we either cut off your water or you can't flush your toilet.

I think just, like, the level that they let you see, like, the the level of transparency over everything.

I think, at this point, we always wanna know

what's in everything, the ingredients, everything I know I do. So I think the level of transparency throughout the entire tour was really interesting.

If you know any homeschoolers, let them know that Fulton County Public Works offers homeschool days. We go all across the county. We do lots of fun activities, like with the water treatment plant, also with the festivals and with gardens, and lots of activities that tie to standards. So let everybody know about our homeschool days. And, also, our tours are free to residents around the county, so check out any one of our drinking water plants or our wastewater plants.

Welcome back. This is the FGTV podcast, Talk Fulton. We're talking to members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office about community engagement. We're joined now by Sergeant Moore of the Community Engagement Unit. Welcome Sergeant Moore.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you for for having us. Thank you.

It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure.

Yes, ma'am.

And we've been trying to get you all on the show, so it's really nice that we were able to get this done because you're busy.

All the time. All the time. Yes, ma'am.

So tell me, I understand you all do pop ups to engage with seniors. Tell us about that.

Yes, ma'am. So we go out into the community in areas, we try to set up tables. And we have, like, little, giveaways that the, that the folks can come and see. And, believe it or not, they're intrigued by us when we come out. They wanna know why we're out there.

And so the first thing we do is we tell them we're out here for you to to show you some love. And so they bring the smile to their face, and they and they really enjoy it. And then, you know, any other questions that may lead to, like, what do we do on a daily basis or anything like that, then we give them that information. If we have any type of programs, we show them things like that.

Do they have a lot of questions? Can you share with us maybe what some of those conversations might be like?

So I think the biggest thing now is on on scams. They wanna know what's you know, when I open my phone, what do I see? And, you know, I had this person call me, so we just try to tell them, you know, just be aware of of of of what they do and things that they back in the day that they probably might have taken for granted. A lot of the situations have changed. The the world's changed. Yeah.

The world has changed. And I know that oftentimes it can be members of somebody's family

Absolutely.

That are trying to take advantage

Mhmm.

Of the seniors. So they have people coming at them from all different directions.

So it's it's it's very confusing to them at times. Yeah. So they just have to be diligent on what they do. Very careful.

What does it mean to you to work on this? I know you've been in law enforcement a long time. I mean, not too long, but but you've you've worked in various types.

Over thirty years.

Yeah. Over thirty? Okay.

So I I I retired from APD, Atlanta Police, in 2021. And I was able to have a relationship with sheriff Labatt. We worked at the detention center Atlanta detention center back in 9092.

Talk about the big change of being in the streets, being in the jail, the city detention center or whatever

Yeah.

To doing community engagement. That has to be quite a change.

Actually, it is. So while working with APD, in the streets, it we, basically, the 911 call. You know what I mean? So when they someone calls you or we hear the the the the call over the radio, we had to respond to that call. And we had to deal with that call, whether it be, you know, a person in a tree or somebody getting held up or, you know, someone urinating in public.

It's we it didn't matter the call. We just had to answer the call. And then when once we got through with the call, we had to go to another call. So it was never really a a personal type of situation that we went into, but, being here with community in community engagement sheds a different a light, something that I never experienced before. And, and it just has to be god because I'm so grateful for being able to share, with these, with the people that I deal with every day.

You know what I mean? Like, you know, just going to these community pop ups, going to these schools, talking to the kids, it's just a joy. It just fills my heart with with joy to do be able to do that.

Well, I hope it's okay for me to say this, but you seem very deserving and worthy of an opportunity to work in a community engagement because I know when you were out there on the on the beat Yes. When you were the beat cop, you had to go to those situations, help the people move on, write a bunch of reports.

Yes. Yes. It was it was quite different. Quite different. And like I said, being here is just a is just a blessing, you know, blessing. And just because we do the food food distribution as well and just to see those those people just line up, to get the food. You know? And it's a blessing that we're in this place place where we can distribute the food to them. You know? So, I'm just I'm just honored to be a part of this team.

And I understand you have a military background as well?

Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. I was able to serve with what I call the best and what many call the best. Only the few in the pride could, wear the the badge, of being a marine. So I I I served in the marine corps.

So when you go home at night and you've had a day of community engagement, what sticks out the most to you? What matters the most to you about the job you're doing now?

Just being able to have someone smile. You know what I mean? Just make a, just have them have us brighten their day, just to give them something that they didn't know about that, you know, because so many times, it's especially now with social media and and all the things that's going on, we get a negative light put on us put on us. But just to let them know that we're human, and we have children, and we work, and we have aches, and we have pains, we live just like you know, we bleed just like they do. We are we are human as well.

And, one thing or really two things that my mom had told me, you wanna treat people the way you wanna be treated. And that's been with me since I was the age of seven to really understand it. And now it's really coming to light because, I don't believe I could could have done this job without having that in my mind to treat people the way, the way they the way they should be treated. You know what I mean? Because I've I've gotten the guy that's coming out the window and with the TV, but still, even though they did what they did, they're still human.

So I still, you know, had to arrest them or take them to jail, whatever, but I still had to treat that person like he was my son, like he was my uncle or, you know, whatever. But you still have to treat people like they want to be treated.

Mhmm. The golden rule.

That's the golden rule. Yes, ma'am.

The golden rule.

Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for joining us. I know that we can follow the agency on social media and keep up with what you all are doing in the community.

Yes, ma'am.

And so that might be Fulton Sheriff at Fulton Sheriff on Instagram and the others.

Yes.

But we'll make sure we have that available for people. But thank you so much for being here.

Absolutely. My pleasure.

It was a pleasure. It really was. I appreciate seeing you again, Sergeant Moore.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

That'll do it for this edition of Talk Fulton, the FGTV podcast. Please be sure to follow us on social media. We're on YouTube at FultonGovernmentTV. Thank you again for watching.

Hi. This is Shay Alexander, your Fulton County Clerk of Courts, and I have a public service announcement today, y'all. Be careful. These scams, these scams, these scams. Whether it's about a traffic ticket, whether it's about jury duty, whether it's about someone being booked in the jail, when they're asking for money, please don't click the link. Please call your local authorities about whatever it may be, but do not do not send anybody any money when it's in reference to something at Fulton County. We don't call and ask for money. We don't ask for Zales. We don't ask for Chime. We don't ask for Cash App.

So please be very, very careful when you get these text messages, these emails, or these phone calls. If they call you or text you about someone being booked in the Fulton County Jail, verify the information with the Fulton County sheriff. If they're calling about a traffic citation, contact municipal court in the city of Atlanta or the state court of Fulton County. And if they're calling about jury duty, call the jury clerk with Fulton County in court administration. Verify the information before you send anybody any money. I am Shay Alexander, your Fulton County Clerk of Courts. We just want you to be safe. So hashtag do not click the link. Do not send any money. Have a great day.

I'm Fulton County Commission chair with Rob Pitts here with an important public service announcement about the upcoming May. The deadline to register to vote is coming up fast on April 20. Now regardless of who you plan to vote for, your party affiliation, or where you're from, check your voter registration via the secretary of state's my voter page. Visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov to ensure you register. Now if you haven't registered to vote, I got good news.

There's still time before the April 20 deadline. You can do so online by visiting the secretary of state's website at sos.ga.gov. If you have any questions or need assistance, you can call the Fulham County Department of Registration and Election, (404) 612-3816. Now your right to vote is too important to wait until the last minute. Check your voter registration today before the April 20 registration deadline.

Fulton County government provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or marital status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. To learn more about employment opportunities at the county, log on to the website, fultoncountyga.gov.

I like to think of of Extension as sort of being the science translators for the university, and they deploy us into all of the counties in Georgia to serve the people who live and work in that county. So we are kind of the extension of UGA. We bring unbiased evidence based recommendations to anybody who lives or works in Fulton County. We have different program areas. So I'm an agriculture and natural resources agent, so we handle any questions from homeowners, residents, commercial farmers, gardeners, even horticulturalists at, public gardens, questions about agriculture, natural resources, gardening, that sort of thing.

But we also have other program areas, so there are other agents who work with youth. Those are our four h agents. Probably people have heard of four h. We have family and consumer sciences agents. They this used to be called home economics, so they that's sort of the stuff that they do. They do nutrition classes, financial planning, that sort of stuff.

We're really lucky to have a robust volunteer community at the farm. So most of my job as a farm manager is actually running running volunteer days. So volunteers come from various organizations like Girl Scouts, for example, college service fraternities, garden clubs, and just kinda general volunteers in the Atlanta area. And so I help direct them to the priority projects that we're working on the farm whether that be planting new vegetables, weeding, mulching, that sort of thing and help them learn how to do those skills.

We grow all sorts of vegetables on the farm here including turnips, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers. We grow all year round except for in the deep winter. Everything is donated to various food pantries and soup kitchens around Atlanta. We're part of the Concrete Jungle organization. So we have a good variety of people from all over Atlanta, including neighbors that, come by fairly frequently and a lot of regular volunteers that like to come and, and it's a very social event.

We like to, distribute as much knowledge as we can about gardening and farming in general to whoever wants to learn. We have core corporate groups come out every once in a while as well. And, yeah, everything's distributed and for a great cause.

So the farm was started by myself and my friend Desmond Baskerville. Both of us actually went to Fulton County Schools growing up. But, you know, we started this farm back in 2018 as part of the as part of the Atlanta Adopt A Lot program, that was started, you know, to help bring urban agriculture more to the forefront, and provide a little bit more fresh food access. Yeah. Back back when that program started in 2017, 2018.

So out here on the farm, you know, I do fruit, flowers, vegetables, as well as herbs, and I propagate and cultivate native species like mountain mint, things that can be used in teas, things that can be used, you know, on a plate, things that, you know, you could just eat fresh, you know. So even something like elderberry, you know, that's something that I was always really excited and glad to grow out here on the farm. You know, I think we walked through our blueberry patch, maybe some rolls and footage of that. You know, one of our native species here in Georgia that people don't realize is blueberries actually. And then, you know, there's like behind you, traditional roll vegetables that you may see.

So collard greens, turnips, you know, mustard greens. I do some okra. You know, definitely do a lot of peppers and do a diversity of peppers. Know, so I don't I don't grow everything out here, but I grow enough to where, you know, if you're a chef, caterer, or somebody that's interested in interacting with fresh food, you got options.

My name is Hillary Goodgame and welcome to Blue Herring Urban Farm and Sanctuary which is located in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. So at this location we have over 76 acres. We are sheep ranchers, we are foresters, we have planted over 1,400 fruit and nut trees, mostly indigenous, so that means peaches and pawpaws and apples and other indigenous trees here. We also have a fully stocked lake here. We are very committed to education.

We have young people routinely on the farm to introduce them to agriculture in Georgia. In fact, the t shirt that I'm wearing, it says, Suffolk serves. We had a group of young people, flying from Boston as part of a service project to learn about agriculture. And this weekend, they had the good fortune and the first introduction to actually building a sheep coop, and they planted about 800 seedlings. My hope is that you have now visited Blue Heron Farm and that you'll come again and you see that we're dedicated to growing healthy, nutritionally dense food and to supporting our community, supporting young people, supporting elders, just letting them know that this is part of Greater Atlanta and that we're doing great things in agriculture here in Georgia.

Well, we're we're based on the rule of life. You come into court, it's because a judge is gonna need to enforce the law or lawyers are arguing about the law, and you come to get the answer to whatever your problem is, and that all flows from the law. So we are big fans and supporters of Law Day.

Mental health explains, not excuses. And I thought that was so that was really important. I know a lot of people who do struggle with situations like that, but, of course, it just gives context as a person. And, again, it doesn't excuse your actions, but it does give understanding.

Really, you don't have to be on a field trip, but I think this was a very transformative experience. It was very exciting. And even if you're not interested in law, I think you should still come and see, you know, what the process is like, who you'll be working with if you do have to come here and get help from people.

I'll tell them that first of all, this was really fun and educational, especially for me. Yeah. This was, like, really interesting. And I'm I know I wanna be in the court. Like, I wanna be in court, but then I also wanna be a detective. I'm just, like, trying to, like, see the different fields of both of them.

I

just appreciate that the county is emphasizing this and that we get the support of all so that each year when Law Day rolls around, the court is able to bring in students, support them in their journey, and share with the community the importance of the rule of law.

When I was in foster care, I never knew when I would have to move. So I always had my suitcase ready to go. Then one day, I was adopted. My new parents opened their hearts and home to me. My parents cooked my favorite breakfast for me every morning. My parents take me on trips I never thought I would go on. They gave me a home and an even better reason to use that suitcase. My parents aren't perfect, but they're perfect for me.

And we are here for two reasons. Number one, to celebrate drinking water week where we celebrate all the lovely people who are working in our facilities and creating clean, safe water for our residents. And we're also here to celebrate homeschool day. So we have homeschool students from all over Fulton County coming out here, learning about our water and also participating in a drinking water filtration activity.

I really just love water and seeing how it's made and like the physics and the science of how we get wasted water into our daily drinking water.

I heard about it through the management company. Were actually at a local pickleball event, pickleball tournament. So we had been talking about it at his homeschool, and he was asking about filtration of water and where it goes, and you're telling him to turn off his water while he brushes teeth. And then why do I have to do that? And we're like, we'll go learn about it from the source.

Public service. Alright? The community outreach, interacting with the kids, the youth, and and just letting the community know that we're here. You know? It's one of those jobs that no one really knows that we exist until we either cut off your water or you can't flush your toilet.

I think just, like, the level that they let you see, like, the the level of transparency over everything.

I think in all day and age, we always wanna know

what's in everything, the ingredients, and everything. I know I do. So I think the level of transparency throughout the entire tour was interesting.

If you know any homeschoolers, let them know that Fulton County Public Works offers homeschool days. We go all across the county. We do lots of fun activities, like with the water shooting plant, also with the festivals and with gardens and lots of activities that tie to standards. So let everybody know about our homeschool days. And, also, our tours are free to residents around the county, so check out any one of our drinking water plants or our wastewater plants.

Okay, dad. 123. You saved me. Dad?

Are you okay?

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