Easter Sunday is a joyous day, one in which we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and our eternal redemption.

Tuesday, July 13, 1999

Easter Sunday is a joyous day, one in which we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection and our eternal redemption.

Everywhere in Lawrence County that renewal of life and hope can be seen.

Tulips and daffodils are beginning to shout their colorful presence as their blooms unfold for the world to enjoy. The temperatures are creeping steadily higher, and we have even had a few days in which we could bask in the sunshine without the protection of a jacket.

Each season has its unique beauties, but spring is the one that offers the most hope.

And, heaven knows, we need a little hope right now as many of our friends and neighbors are facing layoffs at several area manufacturing facilities.

While that black cloud hovers, let us put it aside on this holiest of Sundays and thank our Lord for our many blessings.

We also must remember that God has always provided for us and our area. When we look back on past years and decades, we can recall a number of times when the outlook was much bleaker. We can take heart in knowing we survived then, and we most assuredly will survive now.

In fact, using our own initiative coupled with a large measure of help from a Higher Power, we not only will survive, but we will thrive.

All of us at The Ironton Tribune family wish you and yours a blessed Easter season.

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We have good news to share!

Several weeks ago, we congratulated Janet Hieronimus for being one of four finalists from across Ohio for the Clifford Skeen Award. The award is given in honor of the late Ohio Rep. Clifford Skeen, who sponsored the Community Corrections Act in 1979. The act sought to reduce the number of non-dangerous offenders sent to Buckeye prisons.

As the adult probation officer with the Prison Diversion Program at the Lawrence County Courthouse, Janet carved a highly successful program out of virtually nothing.

The statistics are impressive: Thanks to Janet’s hard work and diligence, Lawrence County had a 94 percent success rate and exceeded its diversion goal with a 157 percent placement rate last year.

Obviously, those who interviewed the four finalists agreed as she was notified this week that she no longer is a finalist but is the winner.

"I felt good about the interview," Janet said this week after being notified of her spectacular win. "I am just so happy for the recognition this brings to Lawrence County."

Janet first took on the adult probation program because she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives – people whose lives desperately needed help, attention and correction.

In typical modest fashion, Janet said the award should say good things to the community about the county’s commitment to getting criminals back on a straighter path.

"The program’s success means our community and victims should not feel safer," she said. "Victims sit in court and hear the judge impose a sentence of probation instead of a jail term. Our program shows we probation really does hold them accountable and that probation really does work."

Janet will be honored at a banquet on Friday, April 9, at the Orient Corrections Training Academy north of Circleville.

Congratulations on the award, Janet, and our thanks for helping make Lawrence County a safer place to live.

Jennifer Allen is publisher of The Ironton Tribune.