Alcohol Fuels Teen Brawl at Athens Nightclub

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Hundreds of teenagers were caught up in a drunken brawl that spilled outside a nightclub in Athens, Ga. More than a dozen police officers broke up the fights and shut down the party at El Paisano on North Street Wednesday night.  The Athens Banner-Herald reports that many of the teens were bloodied from fighting, including a 13-year old girl. They found cups of alcohol and a 16-year old boy holding a bottle of vodka. Three teens were arrested, including a 17-year old boy with a bloody nose, who was carrying a bag of fake crack cocaine. An off-duty Clark County sheriff’s deputy who was hired to provide security was apparently not in the club when police arrived.

Teen Unemployment At An All Time High

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Teen unemployment has never been worse. This year with only 1 in 6 high school kids have been able to find and hold a job. Black and Asian teens have had the hardest time getting jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is bad news for teens who may decide not to go to college or who need to support themselves while getting a higher education. Youth Today writes about the problem, urging state and national workforce development agencies to pay special attention to the teen unemployment problem.

Clayton Faith Forum to Keep Kids Out of Trouble

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Churches and faith-based groups will get together to January to map out anti-gang and youth violence strategies. Several Clayton County public service agencies, leaders of churches and faith based groups are collaborating on January 22 to hold the 2011 Clayton County Community Faith Forum. The forum will teach churches and parents how to keep kids out of trouble. Here are details:

Date: January 22, 2011

Time: 10am – 1pm

Location: Morrow Center

1180 Southlake Circle, Suite 100

Morrow, Georgia 30260

To check out the flyer, click here.

Teen Murder Suicide Leaves Macon Community Baffled

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Families are struggling to figure out what happened to cause 19-year-old Vonn Gibbons to kill his 7-year-old son and then turn the gun on himself Saturday night. The murder suicide occurred at Gibbons home in Macon, Ga at 12:22 a.m., according to police. Authorities determined that Gibbons shot his son in the head and shot himself in the chest, but have not yet determined why Gibbons committed the acts. Gibbons’ neighbor Darnell Cummings saw a cream colored car that may have been leaving the Gibbon’s home between 12:20 and 12:30 a.m Sunday morning, the Macon Telegraph reports. Cummings noticed the car because she witnessed two young men beating Gibbons in his front yard a few weeks earlier.

Bullying Horror Stories: Civil Rights Workers Get Personal

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A new anti bullying video is out from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. It focuses on fighting the harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids and those who don’t conform to gender stereotypes about male or female behavior or appearance. The video features several Division employees sharing their childhood struggles with being bullied and harassed. In this short video, the staff was surprisingly candid about not only being attacked by other kids, but by parents and teachers as well. Staffers go on to encourage young people who are bullied and harassed, by letting them know their futures are still bright.

Author of Pedophilia Guide Arrested by Outraged Sheriff 1,800 Miles Away

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When “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure” showed up for sale on Amazon.com in November, there was a flood of disgust and anger across the country. Facing threats of a boycott, the online retail giant dropped it. But the Sheriff of Polk County Florida did not. Sheriff Grady Judd used Florida’s obscenity law to get a warrant for author Phillip Greaves and charge him with a felony, even though Greaves lives 1,800 miles away in Pueblo, Colorado. Judd says Florida has an unusually detailed law that prohibits selling, giving or transmitting child pornography.

Fathers’ Rights Attorney to Head Office of the Child Advocate

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A Cobb County lawyer who represents fathers in divorce and custody cases will be the next Director of Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate. Governor-elect Nathan Deal has named Tonya Boga as the state’s child welfare watchdog. Boga lives in Marietta and is a partner in the Boga & Edwards Law Group.  Her law practice promises “Advocacy for Fathers who want to maintain a strong healthy relationship with their children.”

According to Boga’s profile, she’s a Juvenile Court Mediator, Guardian Ad Litem, and a member of the National Association of Counsel for Children.  She is past president of the Cobb County Bar Association Family Law Section.  She has two law degrees, including a Master of Laws from Loyola University in Chicago, and the University of Tennessee. Boga is also active in Republican politics.

Letter from Juvenile Justice Commissioner Garland Hunt

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Commissioner Garland Hunt sent a heartfelt letter to his DJJ staff on Thursday.  The letter comes in the wake of news that he will not be reappointed to the post.  Governor-elect Nathan Deal has nominated Deputy Commissioner Amy Howell, who will be the first woman ever to run the Juvenile Justice agency. Hunt‘s letter, addressed to the “DJJ Family”, praises their work and resonates with sadness.  Here’s how it starts:
It is with much regret that I must inform you of the Deal Administration’s decision to not reappoint me as the Commissioner. In a very short time, I developed a sincere love for all of the young people that have been entrusted in DJJ’s care. I quickly realized that we must encourage and believe in them.  Our success as an agency is determined by their success in life. I would encourage you to always keep hope in your hearts for a change in their lives.

Deal Taps First Woman to Lead Ga. Juvenile Justice Agency: Amy Howell Named New DJJ Commissioner

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Governor-Elect Nathan Deal has nominated Amy Howell as the next Commissioner of Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice. She will be the first woman to ever lead the agency.  Howell is a DJJ veteran, an attorney who currently serves as Deputy Commissioner.  She is slated to replace Commissioner Garland Hunt in mid-January. DJJ Board members who must approve the appointment, got the word this morning by email. Howell is a long-time child advocate.  She was hired at DJJ by then-Commissioner Albert Murray, who promoted her within the agency. Amy Howell is an alumna of the Barton Clinic at Emory University, where she started in 2002 as an Equal Justice Works fellow, and became Managing Attorney of the Southern Juvenile Defender Center.  According to the Barton website, Howell helped develop protocols for pre-trial mental health assessment, detention alternative policies, and public education on the juvenile justice system.  She has written a manual called “Representing the Whole Child: A Juvenile Defender Training Manual.”

Howell is also past president of the Young Lawyer’s  Division of the State Bar of Georgia. Before she became a lawyer, Howell taught elementary school and worked with special needs and gifted children in North Carolina.  She got her BA from Connecticut College and her JD from Temple University.

Nine Girls Arrested for Gang Activity in Peachtree City

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Nine girls, all 13 to 15 years old, were arrested for gang activity Wednesday morning at their Fayette County schools, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The girls were turned in by other students who reported to school officials that the girls were making threats and wearing pink and black clothes. Peachtree City police were already tracking the girls for allegations of bullying, beating in new gang members, carrying weapons and apparently sharing information on Facebook. Investigators are increasingly monitoring social media websites to track gang activity, as we reported last month. Surveys across the country also show a nationwide trend of girls getting arrested more often than boys.