By Sonja Britton
For the Telegraph
It was a crisp summer morning at 8 o'clock and the wind was just a gentle breeze to be enjoyed. Yellow wildflowers in an adjacent field, an evidence of the miracle of the desert, waved in unison as though waltzing to a melody I was not meant hear.
As I parked and left my vehicle at the Memorial of Perpetual Tears I watched as seven young people, an important part of our future, gathered to listen to instructions from Magistrate Judge Steve Jones. The group was there to do community service as convicted Minors in Possession and was carrying out a judicial sentence. They were there to remove weeds from the Field of Markers.
In his instructions to the group the judge asked the students to think about what the markers mean, and to think about the fact that the field of markers is comprehensive and the people represented in the field by markers were all victims of DWI.
First and foremost are the innocent victims represented, but the fact is, over half of these markers represent alleged drunken drivers that died in the commission of their crime. He continued to tell them that if they did not change their behavior they may someday be represented at this memorial by a marker in this field.
I looked into their eyes as the judge introduced us and hoped silently as I have hoped so many times before that the memorial would have a positive effect on their future. As they went to work, Judge Jones proceeded to explain to me the requirements, "The law requires that a minor offender must do 30 hours of community service in a manner that will discourage underage drinking," he said. Good place to do it, I thought.
He continued to explain, "There may also be a fine imposed of up to $1,000 but I seldom do that on a first offense however I do warn them that if there is a second offense I will impose the fine plus an additional 60 hours of community service."
After their work was done at the memorial, they attended a meeting and discussed methods of making good behavioral decisions and the consequences of bad ones along with personal responsibility issues.
I'm left silently hoping that the Memorial of Perpetual Tears will have a positive effect on their lives. I prayed that they will never be represented in the memorial field. Sonja Britton is chair of the Memorial of Perpetual Tears.
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