The new home of the Probation Reporting Center served as a focal point for the first day of the final visit of the Chief’s summer tour.

Chief Probation Officer Lonnie Folchert guided guests to the Dawson County Annex Building, where the county’s probation offices were moved this past June. Judges, staff, attorneys, and county commissioners toured the building with Reporting Center Coordinator Brian Flanders and Chief Deputy Probation Kurt Stevens while discussing programming and services available to the community.

 “This is home for me,” noted Justice John Freudenberg during his opening address to the group of individuals welcoming the Chief Justice’s Summer tour to the district courtroom at the Box Butte County Courthouse. He added that he represents the 6th Appellate Court Judicial District which includes 47 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. The Alliance courtroom was the first stop on the third day of the Chief Justice’s Summer Tour.   

In honor of Constitution Day, the Nebraska Court of Appeals will be in session on the campus of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, on September 15, 2022. The court session will celebrate ten years of the Court of Appeals College Campus Initiative, introduced in 2012 at Peru State College.

After greeting Chief Justice Heavican and his travel group, Judge Russel Harford ushered everyone into the district courtroom on the 3rd floor, where he began the tour of the Sheridan County courthouse. He concluded the visit in the county courtroom located in the basement of the neighboring building.

Judge Derek Weimer, along with dual court clerks Jonna Jasnoch and Joan Hansen, greeted the Chief Justice on his first stop of the summer tour in the historic courtroom of the Garden County Court at noon on August 15, 2022.

All three presented their analysis of the outcome of merging the court clerk’s offices and discussed the learning process over the past couple of years.  

Rachel Peters has put forth substantial effort in her five-year career as a specialized probation officer, supervising high-risk youth who are involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Peters recently worked very closely with the Omaha Police Department Sex Trafficking Unit to ensure that a child on her caseload was located and protected. Her efforts have also cemented a positive relationship between juvenile probation and the Omaha police detectives working on these types of crimes. Peters also serves on a multidisciplinary team for sex trafficking.

Individuals may now sign up for a reminder of their upcoming first court date through the Gov2Go service by visiting https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/courtdate.

Assistant Probation Officer Tina Wilson is a massive support to supervision officers in the District 9 Kearney office. She assists by conducting orientations, home visits, and handling coverage for the officers when needed. She proves to be an invaluable resource in District 9 by aiding in processes and policy as well as Interstate Compact. Wilson enables those assisted by the District 9 probation team to become their best selves. Due to Wilson’s wealth of experience in her support role and dedication to serving others, she is considered irreplaceable in District 9.

Commemorating last week's celebration of Probation Week in Nebraska, officers Mark Wagner and Latimer Perry joined Your Nebraska Judicial Branch to discuss the power of probation in their personal lives and in the communities they serve.

The State Judicial Branch is celebrating Nebraska Probation Week July 17-23, 2022. To highlight the celebration, Chief Justice Michael Heavican signed a proclamation designating the week and urging all citizens – particularly those within the legal community – to take note of the occasion.