LOGAN — The Hocking County Common Pleas courtroom was packed with people on Wednesday, but not for a trial or hearing. The audience that filled the courtroom’s benches — and included multiple county and state officials — was there to watch and cheer on the biggest graduating class so far from the court’s drug court program.
The drug court, according to its coordinator Jessica Conley, is a four-phase program lasting 12-18 months. It involves intensive intervention and treatment, designed to individually meet the needs of each participant, with the ultimate goal being to reduce recidivism and enhance community safety while promoting recovery from substance abuse. Movement through the phases is based on each person’s progress and motivation to make positive changes towards a sober lifestyle.
Six individuals who have gone through this demanding program and come out the healthy other side earned recognition for their accomplishment Wednesday in a commencement ceremony, with county Common Pleas Judge Jason Despetorich presiding over the event.
Patrick “P.J.” Blosser, Daniel Grambo, Bethany Thomas, Dean Boucher, David Oliver and Mandy Traugh each received plaques and coins commemorating their milestone, as well as letters of recognition from state Rep. Mark Johnson and the office of U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. It was noted that collectively, the group has nearly 2,000 days of sobriety to their credit.
The judge noted that all six graduates were in the room that day because they had chosen to be, and had worked very hard to get there.
“All six of these individuals before you have shown an exceptional level of commitment to their recovery,” he told the audience. “I’m happy to say that we have a voluntary program, and we have all these participants that wanted to come into this program.”
Addressing himself directly to the graduates, Despetorich told them, “Your attitudes and personalities are infectious, and your success has inspired other participants.” He then spoke briefly to and about each of the class members, sharing details of their struggles in, and contributions to, the program.
Guest speaker at the event was Jada Traugh, a recent graduate of Nelsonville York High School and a daughter of drug court participant Mandy Traugh. Despetorich noted that the younger Traugh had spoken to the class before, adding, “I was so impressed with this young lady that we asked her to come back for commencement.”
Traugh opened with a heartfelt call for America to reduce stigma around those who abuse drugs ““At the end of the day it is not a choice, it is an illness,” she insisted. She went on to share an enigmatic quote from the writer Franz Kafka: “A cage went in search of a bird.” Though she found the remark confusing at first, she said, she has come to believe that “it perfectly illustrates the conflict between isolation and the basic human need for freedom.”
On the one hand, there is the cage, symbolic of any limitation someone faces, which could be addiction, mental health issues, or restrictions imposed by the environment they were born into. The bird, she suggested, betokens “our need for genuine connection,” which has the potential to free us from whatever cage it is that imprisons us.
“Every single individual in this room has faced their own cage, yet you chose to be present… you were determined to take back your lives,” Traugh said. “Still, this is only the beginning of the journey, and it will not be simple at all. It involves confronting uncomfortable truths, embracing uncertainty and facing challenging emotions head on… Yet it is precisely in the search for freedom that we uncover our potential and inner strength as human beings.”
Just as each individual has their own cage, she suggested, so each one’s “bird” takes a different form — for one, a drive to better their education; for another, a commitment o mending broken relationships. “Whatever your bird may be… let it guide you as you move forward,” she advised.
After the ceremony, as participants and audience members mingled and enjoyed food provided by the VFW, The Logan Daily News asked Traugh what it was like for her as her mother struggled through addiction.
“It was hard, and it took a long time for my mom to get to this point,” she said. “But I’m very proud of her, and all the strides she’s made toward bettering her life.”
For her part, Mandy Traugh suggested that support from her family was one of her greatest sources of strength.
“It’s been so hard,” she admitted. “My daughters are incredible. They are my inspiration and my motivation. And when things get hard, I focus on how that would affect them, and I think about the consequences.” She paused a moment. “My daughter means everything to me.”
Email at jphillips@logandaily.com
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