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THURSDAY. OCTOBER 7. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Area veterans court award denotes flagship program
By Mark Millican
Progress Contributor
After serving in the U.S.
Army in the 1970s, Dozier
Watkins “lived on the wrong
side of the law for many
years” by abusing metham-
phetamine, cocaine and mar
ijuana.
“I got in trouble in the
1980s, but stayed under the
radar (of law enforcement)
until 2015,” he said of an ar
rest and probation. “I figured
out the time frame where I
could use drugs and still pass
the next (drug) test ... but I
failed the test.”
Watkins had been sitting
in jail when the late Ron
Gravett, case manager for
Veterans Court of the Ap
palachian Judicial Circuit
covering Gilmer, Fannin and
Pickens counties, paid him a
visit.
“He talked to me and of
fered me the Veterans Court
program, and I accepted it,”
he said. “I knew it was God's
will that I do it, and that it
was time for me to turn this
around.”
Veterans Court, one of the
“accountability courts” under
the Appalachian circuit's aus
pices that gives offenders a
chance to break their cycle of
drug dependency and avoid
further incarceration, is evi
dently a flagship program
around the state. Two weeks
ago, the area Veterans Court
was presented “Model
Court” status by the Council
of Accountability Court
Judges (CACJ), which over
sees the drug courts in Geor
gia for veterans as well as
some others charged with
felonies.
Chris Holt, coordinator of
accountability courts in the
judicial circuit, noted the
three-county Veterans Court
is “one of only three in the
whole state that was awarded
(as) a model court.”
“What that means is we
CACJ/photo
The Veterans Court of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit (Gilmer, Fannin and Pickens
counties) recently received "Model Court" status from the Council of Accountability Court
Judges in Georgia. The award conveys the program as a flagship Veterans Courtfor other
judicial circuits around the state desiring to implement one. From left are Veterans Court
case manager John Di Renzo, Senior Judge Brenda Weaver and coordinator Chris Holt.
meet or exceed the standards
set forth by the CACJ, and
serve as a resource for other
Veterans Courts,” he said.
“Model court designation is
for three years, until 2024.
We just found out about it re
cently. Judge (Brenda)
Weaver wanted to make sure
that the Drag Court program
and the Mental Health Court
program have also been
awarded those designations,
and it was two years ago for
Drag Court and last year for
Mental Health Court. This
year is the very first year
they've ever awarded any
model courts for the Veterans
Court program.”
Senior Judge Weaver said
two years ago, the CACJ de
cided certain accountability
courts needed to recognized
as being quality courts, and
that other judges who wanted
to start courts - such as
felony Drug Court, Mental
Health Court or felony Drag
Court - would be able to get
assistance for starting pro
grams from the model courts.
“We've been very lucky in
our circuit,” she said. “We
were one of the first felony
Drag Courts to be recognized
as a model court, and then
our Mental Health Court was
recognized as a model court,
and this year our Veterans
Court is a model court ... we
need more Veteran Courts in
Georgia.”
Weaver was asked if the
Appalachian circuit has been
serving as a “flagship” pro
gram.
“I think we have, but it's
Vann House recognized as
Underground Railroad site
Church Creek, MD - The
National Park Service’s Na
tional Underground Railroad
Network to Freedom ac
cepted Vann House, owned
and managed by Georgia
State Parks, as a site in the
Network.
The North Georgia loca
tion joins 18 new listings
from the 42nd round of Net
work to Freedom applica
tions. This new listing,
alongside over 695 others al
ready in the Network, pro
vides insight into the
experiences of freedom seek
ers who bravely escaped
slavery.
Twice per calendar year,
the Network to Freedom re
views and accepts applica
tions from sites, facilities,
and programs with verified
connections to the Under
ground Railroad.
Cherokee Chief James
Vann owned the largest plan
tation in the Cherokee Nation
in present day Chatsworth,
Georgia. Vann enslaved at
least 100 Black individuals.
Moravian missionaries,
brought to proselytize and in
struct Cherokee children,
also lived on his plantation.
Many of the stories of free
dom seekers come from their
journals.
In 1809 at the age of 44,
James Vann was murdered,
and people continued to es
cape from the plantation as
the control of the property
fell to Vann’s overseer, and
later his son, Joseph. In 1835,
the Vann family along with
other Cherokees were forced
west on the Trail of Tears to
Oklahoma.
“Each time we accept new
listings, we are reminded of
the power Underground Rail
road histories hold today,”
says Miller. “The stories of
freedom seekers, who risked
everything to claim their lib
erty, continue to inspire us
every time we read a new ap
plication.”
Vann House is open to the
public, but operations may be
limited due to the outbreak of
COVID-19. For the most cur
rent information, please visit
their website
gastateparks.org/chief-
vannhouse.
You can also follow them
on Facebook @friendsoft-
hechiefvannhouse , and In-
stagram at Vann_house_park
The National Under
ground Railroad Network to
Freedom serves to honor,
preserve, and promote the
history of resistance to en
slavement through escape
and flight, which continues to
inspire people worldwide.
The Network currently
represents over 695 locations
in 39 states, plus Washington
D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Is
lands. Through its mission,
the Network to Freedom
helps to advance the idea that
all human beings embrace
the right to self-determina
tion and freedom from op
pression.
certainly not because of me,”
she said. “We have just won
derful staffs who work in all
of our accountability courts.
They believe in what they're
doing, they work very hard,
and they're basically on duty
24 hours a day, seven days a
week. Because we don't
know when someone is going
to have a crisis and we need
to intervene. We're very
lucky to have what I consider
to be the best staff in Geor
gia.”
Jody Merrill, a graduate of
Veterans Court, has become a
mentor in the program. An
Air Force vet for 20 years,
Merrill was in “stressful situ
ations” as a fuel system tech
nician with the legendary
Thunderbirds flying unit.
Later, he worked in a “black
job” that required top-secret
clearance. He turned to alco
hol to relieve the mental ten
sion.
Without Veterans Court,
Merrill said, “I don't know
what would have happened.
I'm adamant about what I'm
doing now.”
Watkins actually called
his arrest in Pickens County
“a godsend.”
“I finally realized it was
God's will for me to accept
this Veterans Court,” he said.
“It's a great program if you're
desiring to accomplish it.
They provide you with differ
ent tools - AA, NA, the
Twelve Steps and such as that
- but my recovery is more
faith-based. Veterans Court
got me sober, and Jesus keeps
me sober.”
Watkins called Holt “one
honest person.”
“If he tells you he's going
to do something, he'll do it,”
he said. “So I trusted him,
and told Judge Weaver I
would do it to the best of my
ability, and I have. I've ac
complished everything
they've set before me, and
done it with a smile and tried
to help other people not be
discouraged, whether it be a
setback or the toughness of
the schedule ... I have no de
sire to go back to that
lifestyle.”
To John Di Renzo, an
Army veteran and the current
case manager who was per
suaded by his friend Gravett
to follow him in the position,
the award is “an honor.”
“We do peer reviews
across the state,” he said of
one aspect of the work under
taken by Holt and himself.
“We've been instrumental in
helping some folks get their
programs off the ground, (tell
them) how to improve them
and what we do to be suc
cessful. We're always avail
able and want to help other
folks with their veterans.”
Di Renzo said Veterans
Court work is “very reward
ing.”
“In a program like this,
you're not going to have a
100% success rate,” he
pointed out. “No one ever
does - in anything. But we've
done things like help them
get VA benefits, help write a
resume', get a job, do budgets
(using) Excel, things like
that.”
However, it's the pulling
together of participating vets
in the program during Covid
that has impressed him
greatly.
“The veterans have ap
peared to come a lot closer
together - they jumped in
there and started helping each
other,” he said. “We made a
conscious effort to pull them
back into their military roots,
so to speak, and we talked to
them about that culture and
our core values ... we work
them pretty hard on that, and
they've turned into a pretty
loyal and tight group with
each other. So that's worked
out real well.”
Judge John Worcester is
over Mental Health Court,
and Judge Weaver manages
felony Drag Court and felony
Veterans Court. The two-year
court programs use account
ability and serve as a poten
tial diversion resource to
keep participants from going
to prison for committing
felony drag violations.
PICKENS COUNTY
GEORGIA
GOVERNMENT
The Pickens County Recycling Centers
will be CLOSED on Saturday,
October 9th, 2021
We will reopen on Tuesday
October 12th, 2021
Hours of
Operation: 8:00AM -5:00PM
390 Appalachian Ct. Jasper, GA 30143
W 9720 Cove Rd. Marble Hill, GA 30148
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