Letters to the editor
How St. Luke Hospital saved my life
To the Editor:
Without the quick decisions that were made in the emergency room at St. Luke Hospital, I would have had a heart attack.
The care I received there was wonderful. Everyone knows their jobs and did them well. I was transferred to the Kansas Heart Hospital for a heart catheterization and they discovered three blockages. Surgery was done and I am doing well.
We are lucky to have the excellent staff we have, including Dr. Ruth Reed and Dr. Kim Hall.
Elizabeth J. Snelling
Marion
Honor professionals
To the Editor:
The week of July 17-23 will be observed nationally as Probation, Parole, and Community Supervision Week. For more than 100 years, officers have been supervising offenders to make communities safer places to live. These unsung heroes dedicate their lives to serving crime victims and holding offenders accountable for the wrong they have committed to our families, friends, and communities.
Probation, parole, and community supervision professionals are responsible for more than two-thirds of the nation's offenders under supervision or custody, yet they receive only one-third of the money allocated for custody and supervision of these offenders. The challenges they face are tremendous, yet they continue to make a difference.
They make a difference through mentoring, interventions, rewards and sanctions, treatment, partnerships with other agencies and community groups, and by assisting offenders in their efforts toward leading a law-abiding lifestyle. They are professionals who constantly acquire knowledge of what motivates offenders and apply that knowledge in the most effective way possible. The work they do goes beyond supervision and surveillance of offenders; it is expanded to include working with victims in a much more involved capacity to ensure that restorative justice principles are addressed. All of this is done in an effort to ensure the highest level of public safety.
The 8th Judicial District covers four counties, Dickinson, Geary, Marion, and Morris. Community Corrections and Court Services are part of the 8th Judicial District, and offer services to track offenders or clients who come into contact with law enforcement in various capacities: supervised probation, intake and assessment, youth court, diversion, bond supervision, day reporting center, case management for JJA custody youth, surveillance, and electronic monitoring.
In 2004, our officers worked diligently to comply with specific court orders in monitoring offenders. During the average month, the 8th Judicial District Court Services and community corrections officers supervised 853 adult offenders, 208 juvenile and diversion offenders, and 40 bond supervision clients. During calendar year 2004, court services and community corrections officers collected $114,917.86 in restitution and have helped offenders complete 4,633.5 community service work hours as part of the restorative justice process.
The 8th Judicial district Day Reporting Center (DRC), located in Geary County, has had 436 adult and juvenile offender referrals to this program. DRC has helped juvenile offenders obtain 49.5 high school credits, and earn three adult GEDs during that time frame.
During this week, honor and recognize the work these professionals do every day of the year.
Cecil Aska, director of community corrections
Todd Heitschmidt
chief court services officer
