Catawba County Veterans’ Treatment Court hosts its third graduation ceremony
The Catawba County Veterans’ Treatment Court (VTC) hosted its third graduation ceremony on Friday, December 15, 2023, at the Catawba County Courthouse, recognizing the accomplishments of five more graduates.
The ceremony honoring the achievements of Carrie White (U.S. Coast Guard), James Talbert (U.S. Army), Ashley Paige (U.S. Army), Glenn Baker (U.S. Air Force) and Shawn Smith (U.S. Marine Corps) took place in a courtroom with elected officials, community dignitaries, veterans and other participants of the Catawba VTC in attendance.
White and Paige are the first female graduates from the Catawba County Veterans’ Treatment Court.
The VTC graduates were joined during the ceremony by their mentors, Lorrie Lawrence, Cary Bowman, Brian Bastone and Lonnie Arthur.
The first Veterans’ Treatment Court session in Catawba County took place on May 13, 2021, following an April 29 kickoff that same year, and has been offered every other Thursday since that time. A total of 13 veterans have completed and graduated from the treatment court.
Pictured, left to right (back row), are District Attorney Scott Reilly, Cary Bowman, Carrie White, Lorrie Lawrence, Ashley Paige, Shawn Smith, Glenn Baker, Brian Bastone and VTC Judge David Aycock. On the front row are Lonnie Arthur and Faith the comfort dog.
“Five years ago, we embarked on a our veteran volunteer mentors. end here. While we celebrate our mission to assist veterans struggling Their unwavering support has graduates, let us renew our commitment with the challenges of returning to been the backbone of the Veterans’ to supporting all veterans.” civilian life,” 36th Prosecutorial District Treatment Court. Attorney Scott Reilly said. “As we celebrate our third graduation, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the entire Veterans’
Treatment Court team and, specifically,
“Today is the culmination of 18 months of our graduates’ dedication and resilience. However, let us remember that our duty doesn’t
The VTC is a way to divert veterans from the traditional criminal justice system and gives them the support they need to lead pro