Problem Solving Court Holds Graduation Ceremony

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Published on June 30 2017 4:31 pm
Last Updated on June 30 2017 4:33 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

(JUDGE ERICKA SANDERS SERVED AS EMCEE FOR FRIDAY'S GRADUATION CEREMONY)

The 4th Judicial Circuit Problem Solving Court has really grown in its 11-year history.

A graduation ceremony Friday afternoon recognized 10 individuals who have successfully completed their program. The ceremony includes reciting who the individuals were when they entered the program and where they are now. The most significant moment is when the participants appear before the judge in a formal court proceeding and hear that the criminal charges they once faced are being dismissed.

(EFFINGHAM COUNTY CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER CHERYL MEYERS)

When the program began, basically as an experiment, it involved individuals from Effingham County dealing with drugs. Over the 11 years, the program has grown to include a mental health court and a veterans court, taking into account the unique situations that were factors in landing the individuals in the court system.

The other real area of growth is that the problem solving court now serves not only Effingham County, but also Clay, Fayette and Jasper counties. Each of the four counties was represented by at least one graduate in Friday's ceremony.

(GUEST SPEAKER AND PAST DRUG COURT GRADUATE GREG EVANS)

The guest speaker was Greg Evans, a Drug Court graduate who has gone onto several years of being "clean", a reuniting with his children, and a fiancee who is also a Drug Court graduate. Evans was using substances for 28 years, since junior high, and promised himself throughout that he would quit, but never did until being placed in Drug Court. As a word to the new graduates, Evans said, "the most important thing is to stay involved with the people and in the things that have helped you arrive at this point, and to keep doing the things you're doing."

Judge Ericka Sanders of Centralia oversees the Problem Solving Court in the 4th Circuit. The judge, who presided over the court hearings for the graduates Friday in which their criminal charges were dismissed, noted that if each had received the minimum prison term, it would have amounted to 23 years in prison and when taking into account the amount it costs to incarcerate an individual, the program has saved the State over $880,000. 

The judge also noted that not only have the graduates changed their lives, they have changed the lives of their children, in that they now have clean and sober parents who want to be involved in their lives.

(AMY MILLER WITH MARVIN)

The ceremony also involved presentation of the 2nd Annual Samuel V. Hurst Memorial Award. The honor is named for Samuel "Buzz" Hurst, who served as Effingham County Probation Officer for 30 years. One of his daughters, Amy Miller, presented this year's award to "Marvin", a man who many of the graduates gave tribute for help in beating their addictions. Marvin is part of a 12-step group, so just his first name was shared.