Monticello Live

Friday night, between 300-400 people gathered at the Stop-the-Hate on 8/8/08 rally at City Park, to show unity for a safer community, and to remember the lives that have been lost by crime and violence in our area.

The program organized by Officer George Strain, who was a One Monticello Life topic in October of last year, and Susan Davis, who is this week’s feature.

Susan is a Juvenile Intake Officer (JIO), Sexual Abuse Management Team Coordinator (SAM) for Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Desha and Drew Counties.

As a JIO, she assists families with placement of a juvenile that may qualify as Family In Need of Court Services or Mental Health Services (FINS).  Susan also assists schools when they have problems with juveniles, and works with the sheriff’s departments and police departments when they need assisstance with a delinquent juvenile  In court, she runs the computer, completing all the juvenile FINS and delinquency orders.

The Sexual Abuse Management Team, comprised with others working with juveniles, monitors juvenile sex offenders, insuring that they are complying with court orders, and that they are receiving the appropriate services. She encourages all victims to enter into counseling.

Susan states that very few times will you find that a juvenile offender was not a victim before, and never received any type of help.

Susan has been serving the 10th District for the past 13 years.  Someone working at the courthouse had told her about the job opening, and she had always wanted to be able to help children in some way.  She contacted Della Knight, who at the time was the only intake officer here, and applied with then Judge Sam Bird in October of 1994.  She went to court to observe, and spoke extensively to Della, and called and visited Judge Bird’s Office for the next 8 months. Then one day in May 1995, Della called and said that Judge Bird wanted to speak with Susan, while they were in Juvenile Court at Drew County.

Susan got ready and went. When the judge finally took a break, he met her at the half wall of the court room, shook her hand, and told her that her persistence had paid off.

Over the last 13 years she has had the great opportunity to work for many judges.  She says she will never forget the time in Ashley County, Judge Pope made a teenage boy bring his truck to the courthouse and park it for a length of time, as part of his punishment. All judges seem to have their own creative way to handle the cases.

The best part of her job is when she runs into a Juvenile later in their life, and they are on the right track. Susan told me that “‘Thank you’ are two words that are rarely spoken in this field.”   She hopes to continue doing her job until she can no longer say “I love what I do”.

Susan was born in Dermott, and raised in Warren.  At the age of five, her dad put her to driving the Kubota tractor in the tomato field. She wishes every child could have just one summer to work those fields.

After her parents divorced, her mother, brother, and she moved to Monticello for a few years, then she became what she described a “hospital brat.”  ”Mom would get a better job, and we would move. I am not saying that in a negative way, I was able to experience things in life that many never will, and for that I am grateful.”  Susan added, “We ended up in Springfield, MO, and that was a huge culture shock. You had to take the public bus transportation to get to school, and the school was three stories tall. Thankfully that only lasted one semester, and we moved to Chadwick, MO”  where she finished out her high school years. “I walked in and they told me there were 95 students, K-12 and that about blew me away.”

The only type of job around there for a 15 year old was on a cattle farm, so she worked there for about a year. It ended up being the best school she had ever attended.  Susan says, “the “one on one” I received from teachers was amazing, everyone got along and finally I felt confident enough to join the school volleyball team.”  

After graduation, she attend Drury College in Springfield, MO, and then moved to Tallahassee, FL, where she attended Cosmetology School.  After a few years there she transferred with Wal-Mart back home to Monticello, with the full intention of eventually moving back to Missouri.  This is when she met her husband Doug. He is the service manger at Warrior in Monticello, AR.  They have 2 sons, Andrew, age 16, who attends Monticello Schools, and Colton, age 13, who is at Drew Central.

The day her youngest son started kindergarten, Susan starting taking night classes at UAM,  (she only gets to go when there is extra money for a class here and there), and she hopes to graduate “at least by the time he does in five more years. HA”

She loves any sport that her family is involved in, and loves to drive her husband’s dirt track car when they have Powder Puff races at Monticello Speedway, she says that if they could afford it, she would love to have her own car.

Susan loves to cook, read and quilt, (something that her granny taught her), and go camping with her family and friends.

Her favorites include:
Phrase–my glass is always half full.
Restaurant-Fortune Cookie
Show-The Unit
Movie-Officer and a Gentleman
Music- some of everything
Song-Old Rugged Cross
Book-Escape
Sports Team-Whichever teams my children are on.

Susan told me, “I try to smile at everyone and tell them hello, no matter how my day is going.”

Susan took on a large challenge around a month ago, and with a little help, put together a program, and helped grow a spirit that may change many lives around Monticello.

Susan Davis, thanks again for following your heart with Stop-the-Hate, and for sharing your One Monticello Life.

Click here to read other editions of One Monticello Life.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Feature: OML. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.