Community Assistance and Support
Article
JUDGE MARK J. HASSETT, CHARDON MUNICIPAL COURT: For the past 18 months Judge Hassett, his staff, and law enforcement have made great strides in furthering the potential impact they may have on the community through the court system. We hope to reach people before a person and/or a family ends up in court. The court has purchased "Fatal Vision Goggles" that allow us to simulate varied degrees of alcohol impairment at different times of the day, and we plan to use them in our middle school and high school programs.
Those arrested for driving under the influence will also have the opportunity to experience the level of their own impairment while they are standing in the courtroom. "Many people have admitted that they have often driven under the influence, but this was just the first time they were caught" states Judge Hassett.
Sentencing has changed since Judge Hassett has been on the bench. We have people choosing alternative sentencing instead of doing any considerable jail time. Though jail is the last course of action for some. Alternative sentencing consists, among other things, of restricted driving, weekend courses, counseling, 12-step meetings, the ignition interlock system, and lengthy terms of probation. If such requirements are not fulfilled, an offender faces maximum sentencing. Extended activity rather than a minimal jail sentence seems to have positively affected people.
Alcohol is the most widely used mood-altering drug in the United States and has complicated effects on the brain. While most illicit drugs affect only a few brain neurotransmitters, alcohol affects many with the result varying from person-to-person. A person needs to understand that if his/her personality is altered by a substance, he/she could have a problem, despite the fact that the person is not destitute. People that succeed in twelve step programs are those that have acknowledged that they are at risk for behavior that is inappropriate. For example, a respectable 37 year old mother of two small children that is normally loving and caring has a couple of glasses of wine with a prescription drug and strikes her child so hard that she permanently disfigures the girl. A husband, an usher in church, has a few beers and when the wife interrupts him, he verbally abuses her and then leaves for a friend's house under the influence to watch a game.
"Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny." (Author unknown) We hope to help those who have acted, but who have repeatedly tried and failed to accept a new plan.
As the community continues to grow, the issue of preserving a safe environment remains our number one priority. We will continue to provide information and resources as they become available. States Hassett, "Every one of us needs support at one time or another. We need one another. I firmly believe that we are to serve God and to serve one another."
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