Falcons Join with Georgia Dome to Honor Georgia High School Football

The Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia Dome today announced a collaboration honoring high school football programs throughout Georgia. New for the 2008 season, the Atlanta Falcons Salute to Georgia High School Football provides opportunities for all Georgia High School Association (GHSA) football programs to be recognized at a home game at the Georgia Dome.

“High school football is an integral part of our sport,” said Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay. “Our Salute to Georgia High School Football allows us to reconnect with the roots of our game, and encourage the next generation of players and coaches.”

In addition to recognition at a Falcons home game, each of the 384 GHSA-recognized high school football programs will provide their individual team helmets to be prominently displayed at the Georgia Dome. The Dome is leading this installation project, which will be a permanent display of pride highlighting the significant contributions of this segment of the sport.

"We're thrilled to host the state finals this year and it's our goal to have the helmet display completed in time for kickoff of the first game,” said Carl Adkins, Georgia Dome General Manager. “We have a great relationship with the GHSA and are very proud to have this opportunity to salute high school football in the Dome."

The Falcons Salute to Georgia High School Football also includes a luncheon at the conclusion of the high school football season, which coincides with state tournament finals at the Georgia Dome. In partnership with Levy Restaurants, the Falcons and the Dome will host all high school head coaches for this luncheon that will also be attended by Atlanta Falcons coaches. The club will select and recognize a Georgia High School Coach of the Year in each GHSA division, and will award many great prizes.

The program concludes in Spring 2009 with a special coach’s clinic hosted by Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith held at the team’s Flowery Branch training facility.

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Atlanta Falcons Encourage Children to Read with the Players Online

GFP Note: Encouraging our youth to read is an awesome program for children. Thanks, Falcons.

Atlanta Falcons players will swap their playbooks for children’s books for the “Read with a Falcon” online reading program. The Falcons have joined forces with Peachtree Publishers to kick off this exciting new program that provides kids with opportunities to read alongside their favorite Falcons players and cheerleaders! With the click of a mouse, kids can take part in a special story time with Falcons cheerleaders and players including Keith Brooking, Roddy White and Matt Ryan.

Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli kicked the program off with a reading of "Railroad John and the Red Rock Run" on September 2. The online reading program lasts all season long, so kids should get permission to log onto AtlantaFalcons.com/readwithafalcon throughout the season to “Read with a Falcon”!

A new book and Falcons reader will be featured each Tuesday during the regular season. A full list of titles (and authors) included in the “Read with a Falcon” online reading program is below:

The Opposite (Tom MacRae)
Nighty Night! (Margaret Wild & Kerry Argent)
The Monster Who Did My Math (Danny Schnitzlein)
The Copy Crocs (David Bedford & Emily Bolan)
Railroad John and the Red Rock Run (Tony Crunk)
Jake’s 100th Day of School (Lester L. Laminack)
Snow Day! (Lester L. Laminack)
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach (Carmen Agra Deedy)
Saturdays and Teacakes (Lester L. Laminack)
One More Sheep (Mij Kelly and Russell Ayto)
First Grade Stinks! (Mary Ann Rodman)
What Do Parents Do? (Jeanie Franz Ransom)
Old Tom’s Holiday (Leigh Hobbs)
My G-r-r-r-reat Uncle Tiger (James Riordan)
Zoom! (Diane Adams)
The Monster Who Ate My Peas (Danny Schnitzlein)
The Scarecrow’s Hat (Ken Brown)

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Remarks as Delivered by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey at the Operation Falcon Press Conference

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of remarks by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey:

Good morning.

I am joined today by John Clark, Director of the United States Marshals Service; William Fallon, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Virginia and the Commander of Operation FALCON 2008; John Cary Bittick, Sheriff of Monroe County, Georgia, representing the National Sheriffs' Association; and Mark Marshall, Chief of Police in Smithfield, Virginia, representing the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

We are here to announce the successful conclusion of Operation FALCON 2008, a fugitive apprehension effort involving federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that took place from June 1 to June 30 of this year. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service, the operation resulted in the arrest of more than 19,000 fugitives from justice, and cleared more than 25,000 warrants, which makes it the single most productive fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. history.

This is the fifth Operation FALCON in five years. This year's good work brings the total number of fugitives captured as a result of FALCON operations to more than 55,000. That means many thousands of violent offenders, drug dealers, gang members and sexual predators have been removed from America's streets. In short, it means safer streets.

In just a few minutes, Director Clark will talk about more specific statistics from this year's operation. What I would like to do is simply to highlight the cooperation necessary to achieve these outstanding results, and to commend the many law enforcement agencies that stepped up and gave it.

FALCON stands for "Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally," and this truly was an organized and national effort. Under the leadership of Director Clark and Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Fallon, the level of partnership displayed among federal, state, and local law enforcement was unprecedented. It brought together more than 1,600 federal, state, and local agencies across virtually every federal district and 49 states.

The operation involved 30 different federal agencies alone, including the Marshals, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Postal Inspection Service to name just a few. Operation FALCON is a perfect example of how law enforcement can and should work together, and of the successes that come from that cooperation.

The operation also shows specifically the importance of working together with our state and local partners to reduce violent crime. This year's Operation FALCON was driven largely by the strong partnerships between the Marshals and their state and local counterparts, including the National Sheriffs' Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, both of which are represented here today.

Following the previous more targeted FALCON operations, state and local agencies expressed strong interest in working again with federal law enforcement to remove fugitives from their streets. So this year's operation aimed broadly at apprehending as many fugitives as possible, in as many communities as possible.

The result is not just a number or an abstract idea, but real differences for real people - for our citizens and for our communities. As a former judge, I have seen the destructive consequences even one dangerous fugitive can have on a community, and I have seen the benefits that come from removing that individual from the streets. Taking fugitives, especially violent fugitives, off our streets means fewer crimes and fewer victims.

Consider the case of two men who were arrested as part of Operation FALCON on June 27 in Laredo, Texas. They were wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for severely beating another man at a party. When they were arrested, agents found evidence of even more violence to come: several firearms, including a semi-automatic handgun and an AK-47 assault rifle, and numerous magazines for the firearms. Agents also located more than 50 grams of cocaine and equipment and supplies used to weigh and package narcotics. The two men now face additional drug and firearms charges.

They, like anyone charged in our legal system, are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and we welcome the opportunity to present their case in a court of law. But it is safe to say that the people of Laredo and elsewhere are more secure because these fugitives are in custody, and I salute the agents and officers involved in their capture.

Operation FALCON 2008, as I said earlier, is the fifth in a series of successful FALCON operations. The dedication and cooperation of all those participating in this year's FALCON operation serves as a continued warning to fugitives from justice that wherever they are hiding, we will work together to find them. Equally important, it gives assurance to all who live in communities threatened by violent gangs, child predators, or others hiding from the law, that there are U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement officers determined to join together and to fight those threats.

I would now like to turn the microphone over to the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, John Clark.