September 13, 2014 Good Saturday afternoon Everyone, Kevin Baird, a reporter from TODAYS NEWS-HERALD, covered the VETERANS COURT Graduation Celebration yesterday. Kevin gave us the go-ahead to share his news item with you. Kind regards & Semper Fi, Russ P.S. Good article Kevin. Our thanks to you for reporting and TODAYS NEWS-HERALD for publishing your article. ___________________________________________________ By KEVIN BAIRD TODAY’S NEWS-HERALD The Lake Havasu City Veterans Court celebrated with cake in the courtroom when Kimberly Johns and Russell Leedy became the program’s first graduates Friday afternoon. The courtroom was filled with public officials, veterans’ group members, and other people offering their support. Johns, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, publicly thanked her attorney and the local Marine Corps League detachment. Leedy, who served in the Army for 10 years, thanked Judge Mitchell Kalauli for his help and for presiding over the Veterans court. “He is a veteran and deserves a round of applause,” Leedy said. “There’s a lot of vets in Havasu who probably don’t know about veterans court. They need to know this is the real deal.” He later said the treatment programs helped him out mentally. “They’re a real support to you,” Leedy said. “ The judge is really honest and fair, but you need to do your part.” Leedy was also appreciative of the support he has received from the community. “I recently had a fire in my mobile home,” he said, “and 13 organizations from the community came together and helped me. Havasu is great in helping vets.” Richard Maxon, an Arizona Supreme Court employee responsible for overseeing the creation of Veterans Courts, said he is happy with the progress Havasu’s Veterans Court had made since it was created in November 2013. “This court’s been a phenomenal success,” Maxon said. “You don’t see this kind of support anywhere else in the state. The public support is a great example for the rest of the state.” Kalauli said the Veterans Court has another graduation scheduled next month. He said Veterans Court needs volunteer mentors as well. For more information about volunteering as a mentor in Veterans Court, call Joseph Little at 505-0394 or call Jennifer Harrold at 453-0705 x3008. According to the Mohave Courts’ April newsletter, “the goal of the veterans court is to assist veterans in receiving the treatment they need and have earned through service to our country, with the ultimate goal of helping them re-engage in society and reduce their recidivism rate.”
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:01:36 +0000
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