What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us ? Ralph Waldo Emerson.

When I wrote my first column for The Clarkston News in October, I said I was looking forward to working here, in a small town, because people matter.
I haven’t been disappointed.
Every time I think I’ve seen the last of the great community programs and met the last of the compassionate, generous people who make life better for others, someone else comes along to impress me.
Last week I found that spirit in a place I’d never thought to look.
The first time Judge Dana Fortinberry told me about the 52-2 District Court’s Sobriety Court, I could tell it was a project that meant a great deal to her.
So I went to a graduation ceremony May 16, and watched as nine men and two women were honored for obtaining and maintaining sobriety during a difficult and highly supervised 18-month program.
There were no caps and gowns, no Pomp and Circumstance, no whooping crowds or limos waiting outside.
What I saw, though, was a group of people who spent the last year-and-a-half struggling for sobriety, fighting to overcome hurts and perceived failures of the past, waiting for a chance to finally look in the mirror and say ‘I am ok.?
I think they got that chance Wednesday.
I was inspired by’and will never forget’the strength and resolve those 11 people found to complete a challenging program and emerge strong, healthy and victorious.
Each and every one of those graduates can be proud of a monumental accomplishment, proud they were able to face and defeat the power that once controlled their lives.
Congratulations to Ken, Ben, Sean, Tina, Lori, Bill U., Greg, Scott, John, Bill H., and Brian. Thank you for allowing me to share your moment of triumph. It was an honor to witness.
But the accolades can’t stop with the graduates.
The Sobriety Court program is made up of Judge Fortinberry, Judge Kelly Kostin, and a well-rounded team of individuals who know and accept that others don’t always want help, at least in the beginning.
The people who run this program know it would be easier, sometimes, to walk away rather than put up with those who don’t seem to want help.
But they don’t. They stay.
They stay, I think, because they see light and life in a person who can’t yet see it in themselves.
They stay, perhaps, because they see through the alcohol-induced haze, to the talented, caring person inside. Those who run the Sobriety Court seem to know that, with a little help, the haze will lift.
These are people who work hard every day to help others take those first small steps on a long road to a better life’a life not ruled alcohol addiction.
It wasn’t hard to see that they stay, quite simply, because they care.
So congratulations, too, to the entire 52-2 Sobriety Court staff. Our community is lucky to have you.
LauraLColvin@aol.com