The Romae ReaderThe Romae ReaderThe Romae ReaderThe Romae Reader THE FULTON COUNTY JUVENILE COURT NEWSLETTERTHE FULTON COUNTY JUVENILE COURT NEWSLETTERTHE FULTON COUNTY JUVENILE COURT NEWSLETTERTHE FULTON COUNTY JUVENILE COURT NEWSLETTER

~ Holiday Issue ~~ Holiday Issue ~~ Holiday Issue ~~ Holiday Issue ~

Special points of interest:

• Message from Your Editor-In-Chief..

p. 1

• National Adoption Day 2010... p. 1

• Fulton County CASA Harvest Day…

p. 2

• A Season of Thankfulness… p. 2

• Did You Know?/ A Decade in Review/

Suggestions/Submissions… p. 3

• Page FOUR (recipes)… pgs. 4-5

• Birthday Club… p. 6

• Familiar Face of Juvenile Court… p.

6

November 2010 Volume 1, Issue 3

A Message from Your Editor-In Chief:

This is the third and final

Romae Reader for 2010. When I began

doing this newsletter, I was nervous and

excited; and with each subsequent news-

letter there are still nerves. Once the

last one is completed, I start thinking of

what direction I’m going in for the next

one. That’s much like how I feel about

the coming new year.

Two thousand ten has gone by

quickly. The days have went by so fast I

look back wondering where the previous

month went. Now, this year is turning

into the next one, and we will also be in

a new decade. Just like the newsletter,

I’m nervous about the new year, the new

decade. As a child, I did not realize the

value or impact of a year, let alone ten.

As an adult, I do.

When 2011 comes, I will be

grateful for all that occurred in the previ-

ous year and ten years before and I look

forward to the life changes that will come

in this next year. Unlike the newsletter,

I do not want to think in advance, but

rather live in the moment of each day,

since I now have an appreciation for the

blessings I am given.

Happy New Year!

LeKay Flax

National Adoption Day 2010

On Saturday, November 20, Fulton County Juvenile Court and courts nationwide

participated in National Adoption Day. National Adoption Day is a day of celebration

nationwide; where children who are in foster care have their adoptions finalized and

are adopted into families. This is the ninth year Fulton County Juvenile Court has

organized and participated in the event.

The day started, after the families checked in, with breakfast. Following breakfast

was the National Adoption Day program with Atlanta City Council Member and

adoptive parent, speaker, Keisha Lance Bottoms. At the conclusion of the program,

the families went to the Judges Chambers for finalization of their adoptions by Chief

Judge Belinda E. Edwards and Associate Judge Bradley Boyd.

A local news crew from WSBTV was here to capture the celebration and to do inter-

views with the judges. Upon completing the adoptions, each family was given a letter

from Chief Judge Belinda E. Edwards and Judge Bradley Boyd congratulating them

on their new addition. Many volunteers from various organizations in the community

were on hand to provide assistance and give time for the day.

The families took pictures and were given holiday gift baskets by Alpha Phi Alpha

Fraternity Incorporated to help celebrate the upcoming holiday season, and each child

received a gift basket from the Juvenile Justice Fund. Iota Phi Theta Incorporated

assisted in setting up the training room as well as the reception areas for the event.

Staff members from the Mechanicsville Library were present with goodies for the

children (like movie posters, face masks and stickers as well as information on how to

obtain a library card). Melanie Levine, art teacher at Stonewall Tell Elementary

School, had a crafts table where she made origami (the Japanese art of paper folding)

boxes and frogs. She also drew pictures of fish, basketballs and other shapes on con-

struction paper so that the children could decorate their boxes.

National Adoption Day events have steadily been built from just a few districts to

events for throughout the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Since 2000, more than 25,000 children have been adopted from foster care during

National Adoption Day, with just as many still needing permanent homes. Many chil-

dren age out and never fully have that family that many of them desperately need.

Besides to finalize adoptions, the goal of National Adoption Day is to raise awareness

of children needing to be adopted and to encourage the community to adopt. Needless

to say, this year’s National Adoption Day was successful with 24 children being

adopted, fulfilling permanency in sixteen families.

For more information on National Adoption Day, please visit the following websites:

www.nationaladoptionday.org and www.childwelfare.gov/adoption.

~LeKay Flax

The Romae Reader Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 2

A Season of Thankfulness

For those of us here at the Court, looking forward to the coming seasons of Thanksgiving, Christmas

and the New Year is reason enough to want to celebrate with unparalleled joy for the opportunity to be off from

the cares and strains of juvenile justice. These seasons of thankfulness allows all of us the time to retool emo-

tionally and mentally from the frenetic urgency of what we do. For often we are caught up in the seriousness of

the problems plaguing the lives of families as they wrestle with daily survival; for many, daily is surviving one

day at a time.

To be thankful is to illustrate a kind of humility lived out in the portrait of a mother’s tears when her

child is found delinquent of a crime but is given an opportunity to make amends through Probationary Chan-

nels. A season of thankfulness is realized as families come together over a meal of turkey with all of the trim-

mings made possible through generous donations of caring and compassionate others. The real spirit of thank-

fulness and giving is seen in the replicated acts of the “Samaritan on the Jericho Road,” who demonstrated un-

matched love and compassion for someone he should have hated because of past history.

Thankfulness and celebration is a time for those of us who evaluate, assess, recommend treatment and

rehabilitation plans for clients who have maxed out in delinquency with the courts as their last resort for help.

When they find relief from their “wanderings and going astray” in the restructuring of their lives for the better,

we can all count the victory won for what we do. For the Judges, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, Private

Attorneys, FDFACS Case Managers, Court Reporters, Bailiffs, Probation Officers, Court Support Specialists,

Police Officers, Witnesses, Parents, Clients, Record Room Staff, Complaint Office Staff, Mental Health Staff ,

Program Resource Development Staff, Panel Review Staff, Family Life Center Staff, Teen, Drug- Adult/Teen

Court, Education Advocate Staff, Probation Security Staff, Plant and Engineering Staff, Janitorial, Yard Main-

tenance Staff and anyone overlooked, we wish all of you and us a merry, joyous, loving, celebratory, and spiri-

tual season of thankfulness and giving such that those who do not have will have reason to celebrate the love of

human kindness.

~Roy Williams (Contributing Writer)

Fulton County CASA Harvest Day

On Thursday October 27, 2010, the Family Drug Court multi-disciplinary team consisting of CASA,

the Department of Family And Children Services (DFCS), Child Advocate Attorneys, the Parent Attorneys,

Ready-Set-Go as well as assistance from Gamma Sigma Sigma Sorority, Iota Phi theta Fraternity and the Ju-

venile Justice Fund put on the second annual Harvest Day (Halloween Party) for the children. According to

William White, CASA Advocacy Coordinator, “Harvest day is an opportunity for parents and their children to

spend time together and bond in a sober environment”.

For two and a half hours, forty children, who are in foster care, were accompanied by their guardians

to Juvenile Court, to see their parents in a sober environment where they played games (like musical chairs

and Uno), had a coloring contest, danced to music and ate food. The staff asked the children to guess the

amount of candy corn in a jar; whoever guessed the correct amount won a prize. The staff and volunteers wore

various costumes for the Harvest Day party. They were dressed as a clown, a pizza delivery person, a judge

(see inset), Minnie Mouse, Pocahontas (see inset), a witch as well as other characters.

Following this Harvest event was a Thanksgiving party on November 17 and a Christmas

party which will be held on December 15 in which CASA will be giving out presents to the

children. Mr. White says that the party is a success every year and that he enjoys seeing the joy

the parents and children get when they participate.

~LeKay Flax Pictured: Tracy Fields as Judge Fields and Attorney Crystal

Conway as an Indian Woman during the Harvest Day festivities

When we return to work on January 1, 2011 we will have entered a new decade. In this decade, there have been nu-

merous events that have shaped the United States and the World alike. Below are some events that in ten more years

you can say you remember:

2001 September 11th– The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Wash-

ington D.C. December 15th– Leaning tower of Pisa in Italy reopens after being closed for 11 years to restore the

structure but not its famous lean. 2002 January 8th– No Child Left Behind Act signed by President George W. Bush.

2003 February 1st- The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, killing all on

board. October 3rd- Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy is attacked by one of the tigers in their Vegas show, canceling the

show for good. December 14th- Saddam Hussein captured. 2004 February 4th- Facebook Social Networking Site is

launched. December 26th- Earthquake off island of Sumatra in Indonesia creates a tsunami in the Indian Ocean,

killing 230,000 people. 2005 January 26th- Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, the first African

American woman to have the position. February 15th— Youtube launches in the United States. April 2nd– Pope

John Paul II dies. April 17th– Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected as Pope Benedict XVI. August 27– Hurricane

Katrina (Category 5) slams into the Gulf Coast region, in particular New Orleans, LA leaving nearly 2,000 dead. 2006

December 30th– Saddam Hussein executed. 2007 December 27th– Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Paki-

stan, is assassinated. 2008 February 24th– Fidel Castro retires as Cuban President. August 27th– Barack Obama

is the first African American to be nominated by a major political party in the U.S. November 4th- Barack Obama

becomes the President-Elect of the U.S. 2009 January 20th– Barack Obama sworn in as 44th U.S. President. 2010

January 12th– Haiti Earthquake, over 200,000 people killed.

For more events listings you can check out: www.historyorb.com.

• There are three holidays coming up soon: Christmas break: Thursday, December 25 and Friday, December 26; New Year:

January 1, 2011 (but we get Friday, December 31 since New Year falls on a Saturday) and Martin Luther King Day: Mon-

day, January 17.

• Christmas/Holiday Party is Friday, December 17, 2010 here at the Fulton County Juvenile Court 5:30pm-9pm.

• November is National Adoption Month, according to Child Welfare Information Gateway website (www.childwelfare.gov).

• New Employees: Tamika Garner (Juvenile Detention Shift Supervisor), Jordan Waddy (Court Assistant for Drug Court),

Addie Whittaker (Administrative Coordinator I), Jacqueline Price (Court Clerk).

• Otis Hutchinson was promoted to Juvenile Probation Security Supervisor.

• Tim Crowder was promoted to Juvenile Probation Security Officer.

• World AIDS Day is December 1.

• For those who use the shuttle: please use number 678-333-4660, the number given on the email sends you to a

dispatch and they will give you the number above.

SUGGESTIONS!?/SUBMISSIONS

Have suggestions for the Romae Reader, please feel free to send me an email (see below) or call ext 4476.

If you would like to be interviewed for a section or would like to contribute to the newsletter please send those submissions to:

lekay.flax@fultoncountyga.gov

The Romae Reader Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 3

DID YOU KNOW?

A DECADE IN REVIEW

PUMPKIN ROLL

Ingredients:

3 eggs, 2/3 cup plain pumpkin (not pie filling), 1 cup sugar

(maple sugar may be used), 3/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1

teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2-3/4 cup

chopped walnuts or pecans & powdered sugar.

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine all dry ingredients. Add eggs and pumpkin (fresh

frozen or canned; if using frozen drain out excess liquid).

• Butter or spray non-stick spray (11x15inch)jelly roll pan. Line

pan with parchment paper to edges. Spread pumpkin mixture

evenly over paper liner. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

• Bake @350 for about 15 minutes or until done.

• While the pumpkin roll is baking, spread a large clean cotton

dish towel on a work surface; sprinkle the towel with pow-

dered sugar.

• When cake is done remove from oven. Run a butter knife

along the edges to release the cake from the sides. While still

warm invert the pumpkin roll onto towel. Gently peel off

parchment paper.

• Using the towel to help lift the cake, roll up the towel (cake

&all) beginning at the short side of the cake; continue rolling

until you have cake in the shape of a jelly roll. Allow to cool in

this position. When cake is cooled, unroll gently; spread with

filling and re-roll. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

• Filling for pumpkin roll: 2 teaspoons butter, 8oz.pkg of cream

cheese, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 cup confectioners sugar.

~Meiko Williams (Contributing Writer)

ORANGE PINEAPPLE HONEY CHICKEN

Ingredients:

8 skinless chicken breasts, 1 jar honey, 1 small can crushed pineapple, 4 or-anges, 2 teaspoons sugar

DIRECTIONS:

• Pre-heat oven to 350* F.

• Wash chicken breasts and place in a large baking

dish.

• In a medium bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Pour

the entire contents of the small jar of honey into the

bowl.

• Wash and peel oranges (keep the peels). Add the can

of crushed pineapple (with juice). Sprinkle with 2

teaspoons of sugar. Mix honey, pineapple juice and

crushed pineapple in bowl. Consistency should be

thick.

• Glaze chicken with sauce, evenly coating the entire

front side of the breast.

• Squeeze oranges so that the juice covers the chicken

and thins the sauce.

• Place orange peels in the casserole dish around the

chicken breast.

• Bake on 350 for 30-45 minutes or until chicken has a

white center and is golden brown. Best served with

wild or white rice.

~Meiko Williams (Contributing Writer)

PAGE FOUR

The Romae Reader Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 4

Holiday Giving:

Many of us think we have to give money to help those less fortunate than us during this holiday season. Here are a few other ways

you can help those in need:

1. Clean out your closet & take gently worn clothes and shoes that you have outgrown or no longer use and donate these items to a

men’s or women’s shelter (remember to wash/launder items first!)

2. Organize a food drive in your community and give food baskets to needy families.

3. Check in on elderly neighbors and sit with them for a while. Maybe even invite them into your home for holiday dinner.

These are just a few ideas to make someone else’s holidays a little easier.

~Meiko Williams (Contributing Writer)

CHRISTMAS MEAL IDEAS

SOUTHERN BLACK-EYED PEAS

1 lb. pkg of dried black-eyed peas

6 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

1 large onion (chopped)

2 celery stalks (chopped)

1/2 cup green bell pepper (chopped)

Package of smoked turkey (can be made with pork or no meat for non-meat eaters)

DIRECTIONS:

• Soak peas overnight in water.

• Drain and rinse. Place in large boiler.

• Add water and additional ingredients.

• Cover and cook for 2 hours on medium heat. Serve with rice.

~LeKay Flax

NON-ALCOHOLIC SANGRIA

3 1/4 cup ginger ale, chilled

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups Mint Simple Syrup, *see recipe

1/2 lemon and lime, thinly sliced and halved

10 strawberries, quartered

Crushed ice

DIRECTIONS:

• In a large pitcher, combine ginger ale, orange juice and mint simple syrup.

• Add the strawberries, lemon and lime slices.

• Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour over the top. Serve immediately. Yields 2 1/2 cups.

Simple Syrup– 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 1 cup packed mint leaves

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and mint over medium heat.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove the pan from heat and allow syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain mint leaves before using syrup.

(www.realmomkithcen.com/2309/non-alcoholic-sangria)

~LeKay Flax

PAGE FOUR cont…

The Romae Reader Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 5

New Year Traditions Worldwide

• In the United States, many people celebrate the turning of the New Year at celebration parties or events. Major cities host

events such as the Ball Drop in Times Square in New York City and the Peach Drop in Atlanta. Also, it is thought that if

you eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day that they will bring you good luck for the new year.

• In Portugal, the Portuguese people pick and eat twelve grapes (one for each month of the year) as the clock strikes for good

luck through the year.

• The Chinese New Year is February 3, 2011. Chinese New Year is based on two calendar systems and be-

cause of the new moon can occur any time between late January and mid-February. Monetary gifts in red

envelopes are given. The color red in Chinese culture symbolizes luck.

• The first place to “ring-in” the New Year is determined by the International Date Line. The Pacific Island

of Kiritimati (Christmas Islands chain) sees the new year before the rest of the world. The last place is

Aleutian Island off the Alaskan coast.

NEW YEAR MEAL IDEAS

TYPICAL NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

• Loose weight and Get fit, Get a better job, Manage money/ save money, Quit Smoking, Do volunteer work, Take a trip

DENISE HILLIARD

For twenty years, Denise Hilliard has been employed

at the Fulton County Juvenile Court. When she began her ca-

reer as a court clerk, Juvenile Court was located on Capitol

Avenue. Denise recalls the days when there were minimal

computers, no JCATS so everything was manual, there was no

flocking system and the file system was an accordion style like

the ones you see at the doctors office.

In addition to working as a court clerk, Ms. Hilliard

has worked the switch board and since November 2009 as the

assistant to Gwen West in the mediation department. Upon

going to mediation, she had to learn new skills (especially com-

puter skills), learn a new file system (mediation file system

differs from record room), learn the mediation procedures and

become comfortable with interacting with clients.

Prior to working at Fulton County Juvenile Court, for

several years Denise worked at the Board of Education in New

York. In 1990, she moved to Georgia, seeking a change of

scenery and a better life with her then juvenile daughter,

whom at the time was acting out. She knows that move was

the best decision for her daughter, who is now a college gradu-

ate with two degrees pursuing her third in nursing.

On Tuesday, November 22, Ms. Hilliard retired from

Juvenile Court. Of the many things that her co-workers will

miss her jovial, pleasant nature is at the top. Whenever you

♣ DECEMBER

GARY ALLEN LAYNADO BELL JULIE BLUMKE CLINTON BROWN

BEVELY BURTON PHILIP CAREY BRENDA CHESTER FRANKIE CLEMENTS

CRYSTAL CONWAY BOBBY CRAWFORD KENNETH HARDAWAY

PATRICK HARPER TANYA LEON-THOMAS JAMES McRAE JEWEL MORRIS

JANESTA NAIRN ROY WILLIAMS

FAMILIAR FACE OF JUVENILE COURT

The Romae Reader Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 6

♣ NOVEMBER

JOHN DAVIS NINA JOHNSON DORSEY JONES SHOUNE LAWTON- SESSOMS

GAIL McKINLEY INA POPE SHERTIKUA REID JAMES USANGA

JORDAN WADDY PAMELA WALTERS-BRYANT

♣ JANUARY

LISA BROWN JOSEPHINE CUMMINGS DARRELL DIXON TAMIKA GARNER

SHELIA GREEN OTIS HUTCHINSON ANITA KING BRANDON PECK

WAYNE SHELTON CONSTANCE WEST WANDA WRIGHT MILFRED ZENO

saw her she had a smile on her face and she greeted you every

time, whether she had just seen you a minute ago or an hour

ago. She says she always tries to maintain a positive attitude

and stay in a good mood. She enjoys laughing and making

others laugh.

About working, she says, “Learn your craft well and

always be willing to help your coworkers. Do what you can to

improve the place where you work and leave it better than

you found it.” She also reiterated something I was always

told growing up, “If you put your mind to any job or task, you

can accomplish it. Whatever your passion or goal is, though it

may take a long time, you can accomplish it. Never give up

and never stop learning!”

After retiring, Denise, one of six siblings, will be re-

turning to New Jersey, to start college so that she can pursue

her life long dream of becoming a nurse. She is indeed living

her words of accomplishment and continuous learning by pur-

suing another career. As Chief Judge Belinda E. Edwards

said at Ms. Hilliard’s retirement gathering last week, “You

have set the bar.” Let us all, in the spirit of Denise Hilliard,

too set the bar and as she said do what we can to improve our

work place. Best wishes to Ms. Hilliard on this

next journey in her life.

LeKay Flax

The Romae Reader Layout and Design by LeKay Flax