LEESBURG, Ga. (WALB) – Weston Brown, 11, is a brave young boy who loves to golf, hunt and fish.

Unfortunately, Weston’s selective appetite was taking him away from the activities he loves. His mom, Lacey Brown, noticed her child would not eat a variety of foods starting at two years old.

“[Weston] would eat baby foods, but he wouldn’t eat a lot of table foods,” Lacey Brown said.

Brown said her son’s fear of food got so severe that Weston would only eat crispy things like chips and fries. No meat, fruits or vegetables. When she reported this to doctors, they told her Weston was fine. Her gut told her something else.

“I just wanted to know what is going on with my child,” Brown said.

Weston’s severe fear of food is known as ARFID or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Kristin Hathaway, a psychologist with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said ARFID can cause patients to avoid foods with interesting textures, smells and tastes.

“There’s usually a negative health consequence. You have a nutritional deficiency. You’re losing weight and you need formula to grow. There are these intense associations with trying new foods or eating,” Hathaway said.

For help with this diagnosis, the Browns turned to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). After 8 weeks in the feeding therapy program, a child that would not eat much of anything before is trying new foods and enjoying them.

“I am just absolutely grateful for CHOA and the way they treated us. They gave him a new way of living life,” Lacey said.

Weston will have to follow up with therapy for a year, but Lacey said he’s taking huge steps in the right direction.

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Good Morning!

The trail has been treating us well.  I have seen how well cared for this Appalachian Trail has been in Georgia!  My career with water has been primarily in operations and maintenance and understanding the care needed to keep things in good repair.  The well placed rocks, logs, and swales to take the rain water off the trail, the marked restoration areas, and the start of prep for areas needing some tlc all show how well this trail is appreciated in Georgia!  Giving a nod of appreciation to your great work.

Spring blooms

Each day in these first 70 miles are showing more signs of green and spring.  At home I watch for the early crocus blooming through the snow.  Along the trail I am watching for new flowers and learning their names.  For you in the area, dont laugh too hard if I am sharing pictures of weeds like dandelions rather than true wild flowers.  I would love comments with the right names if I miss something.  I have seen so many Rhododendren buds and remain hopeful I may be able to see some flowering before leaving Georgia.  I have seen a large grouping of Periwinkle and a Quaker Lady.  All of the have been fairly scarce right now, but I expect in the next week will be very colorful.

Lessons from these 70 miles

Most things are really working out well with more time on the trail.  I did need to pick up some ankle sleeve supports to help my feet continue climbing over so many varied surfaces.  My daughter has now pick up a knee sleeve also for some support.  We dont think we will need them long term, just to give us support as we are building muscles and putting in the miles.

We have been really been fortunate with the right gear and insulation levels on our sleeping bag pads for the cooler temps.  We only had one morning of drizzle so far.  In the next few days we will have a couple of days of rain.  So likely a few more lessons to learn.  So far we have just been able to figure out one or two things at a time which has been good.  

We both ran out of fuel for our stoves this week.  We had been fully turning them up before lighting, now we will adjust to igniting them with a lower volume of release of fuel.  I had also screwed on my stove to the fuel canister without keeping the canister fully below the stove.  So I had fuel leaking out.  More lessons learned.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you will find your next adventure.  It is so good to think about something new each day and have some peace.  The trail has been good to me.

Take care,

Mic

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Georgia state lawmaker lost his day job after voting against the contentious lawsuit reform bill aimed at curbing business liability lawsuits and large insurance payouts.

“It affects my family,” state Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) said. “It was a very negative effect on my wife and my whole family.”

Smith said he was fired as the CEO of the Harris County Chamber of Commerce in a Zoom call Friday, the day after he voted against Senate Bill 68.

“My vote wasn’t taking the chamber in the direction that they wanted to go, and therefore we’d had to part ways,” he said, paraphrasing what the chamber’s board chair Theresa Garcia Robertson told him.

In a sit-down interview with Atlanta News First Investigates, Smith said he sat in four of the hours-long subcommittee sessions to hear the testimony and debate regarding the bill and how it would affect Georgians’ everyday lives.

“I’m a small business. I’ve got an LLC. I’m a member of my own chamber. I definitely think about small business on the issues that I vote on, it affects me directly and affects everybody else in the community across the state,” Smith said. “I didn’t know the outcome was going to lead to where we are now.”

The bill passed on Friday, a day after the House approved a substitute in a 91-82 vote.

Smith said he can’t even count the number of texts, calls and emails he’s gotten since.

 “I want to thank you. This is a family in here,” he told the House chamber Tuesday. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Democrat representatives rushed up to comfort him as he began to choke up.

“I guess I’m kind of a sentimental guy,” Smith told Atlanta News First Investigates.

Smith said he had a few concerns about the bill and had been asking a lot of questions.

For example, he had asked for representatives with insurance companies to call him to explain what they would do going forward.

“Looking at this bill, will this bill entice companies to come back to Georgia? Will it ease the fears of companies that are here in Georgia to that they’ll stay in Georgia?” he asked, but said to this day, he hasn’t heard from anyone from the insurance side.

“I said, ‘Well, you know, if we can make this a better bill, I think I’ll vote no now so we can work on that bill some more,‘” Smith said.

He had no idea it would cost him his job representing businesses in Harris County.

“My position here is very important to me. I want to do what’s right,” he said.

Garcia Robertson, who fired Smith, is the wife of one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Randy Robertson. Some have asked Smith if he believes losing his position was also party retaliation for his vote.

“I honestly will not speculate,” he said. “We’ve got legislation to do. I’ve got to work ‘til April the 4th midnight, passing bills that are meaningful to my area of the state and in, actually to the whole state. So I’ve got to concentrate on that.”

Garcia Robertson told Atlanta News First Investigates in an email statement, “We do not comment on personnel matters. What we can tell you is that we hold Vance in high regard personally and appreciate his service to our community and his district.”

Smith said he helped start the Harris County Chamber of Commerce in the early 1990s and had been CEO for almost three years.

This is his 24th year as a Georgia lawmaker.

House Majority Whip James Burchett, who also co-sponsored SB 68,addressed Smith’s firing in a release.

“Numerous members have suffered threats to their livelihoods and independence because of their votes on Senate Bill 68,” he wrote. “We should hold legislators accountable for their votes at the ballot box – not by taking aim at their ability to support their families.”

Atlanta News First Investigates also reached out to the Georgia Senate’s press office for a comment from Sen. Robertson. We are still waiting to hear back.

Atlanta News First Investigates previously reported on online “threats” made to businesses that supported SB 68.

One example is a story post on Facebook from a personal injury attorney, who said: “I cannot wait to sue businesses who blindly support tort reform. Not only will I give you a lesson on how insurance works, but I will punish you for your pathetic attempt to put profits over people. Welcome to the show.”

The attorney told Atlanta News First Investigates, “While admittedly zealous, my post reflects my thoughts that if the businesses that blindly supported tort reform and spread misinformation end up in lawsuits because their carriers failed to resolve claims fairly.”

The bill was heavily supported by the business community, which said insurance premiums were rising so rapidly that some small businesses couldn’t afford to have them anymore.

Small business owners in the state said they’re frustrated with constantly having to pay huge settlements over lawsuits they feel are frivolous.

Opponents of the bill also noted that nothing in its language actually required insurance companies to lower their rates.

The last day of this year’s Georgia General Assembly is set for Friday, April 4, 2025.

Atlanta News First and Atlanta News First+ provide you with the latest news, headlines and insights as Georgia continues its role at the forefront of the nation’s political scene. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest political news and information.

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