Oak Ridge Today

Letter: Picks Clement based on experience, knowledge, compassion

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To the Editor:

The children of Anderson County deserve the best juvenile judge Anderson County can offer. Careful thought must be given in the selection process to ensure our children will receive a proper review and disposition of their respective cases, starting with the first day the new judge is in office.

As a retired volunteer court-appointed special advocate (CASA), I approached my selection by first attending a forum to listen to each candidate present his experience and answer questions. I selected Mr. Clement based on his expressed experience and the quality of his answers to questions. I concluded he had the legal knowledge, juvenile court experience, life experience, and the compassion and tolerance along with a strong commitment to consider the need of the child first in all decisions.

I considered his opponent as ready for internship. [Read more…]

Letter: CASA volunteer outlines juvenile judge qualities

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To the Editor:

When I started as a volunteer CASA in 1994, I had not given much thought to what qualities I expected of the judge other than an impeccable character. When I was preparing a report for a complex case and I needed the judge to read the report and conclude the same as I had—that the child needed to be removed immediately from what was planned to be its adoptive home—I started mulling over the qualities needed for a judge to effectively carry out his or her responsibilities and assessing what qualities the judge I was addressing had. I started the following list and it grew with time: [Read more…]

Anderson County child advocate named CASA Volunteer of the Year

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Dale Hedges CASA Volunteer of the Year

Dale Hedges, center, was named the 2013 CASA Volunteer of the Year for his work with work with CASA of the Tennessee Heartland. Also pictured from left are Kevin Balkwill, Katrina Atchley, Kathryn Hedges, Ashley Bryant-Cheney, and Naomi Asher. (Submitted photo)

Dale Hedges of Clinton has been named the 2013 CASA Volunteer of the Year by the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. The award recognizes Hedges’ 18 years of service as a volunteer for CASA of the Tennessee Heartland, which serves children in Anderson, Blount, and Scott counties.

Knoxville lawyer Katrina Atchley Arbogast, chair of the YLD Children’s Issues Committee, presented the award to Hedges at a dinner in Nashville on Jan. 18. A cash gift also was presented to Naomi Asher, executive director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland, to benefit the agency’s work.

Hedges was selected as this year’s recipient for his longtime service, effective advocacy and consistent commitment. According to Asher, who submitted the nomination, Hedges is the agency’s longest serving volunteer and has represented 29 children in 19 cases during his tenure at CASA.

[Read more…]