Blue Ribbon Committee to write response to youth court judge, will invite experts to clarify record

The Harrison County Blue Ribbon Committee voted to draft a formal response after members reviewed a letter sent to Representative Bennett by a youth court judge that committee members said misstates the record.

Speaker 3 moved “that we put together, write the letter to see everybody on the invoice addressing the concerns in this letter and invited Judge Bill and Commissioner Sanders”; Speaker 1 seconded the motion and the committee agreed to proceed. The motion instructs committee staff to compile input, submit the draft to the committee attorney for review, and copy the recipients the judge had cc'd, including county supervisors.

Members said the judge’s letter asserted that national experts, including Andrea Sanders, had presented to the Blue Ribbon Commission. Several members disputed that claim. Speaker 5 said the presentations members recalled were separate events and “she was completely misinformed for her to write presented to the Blue Ribbon Commission because this was something completely separate of y'all.” The committee decided to invite Andrea Sanders and to ask Judge Alfonso (the letter’s author) to clarify whether the letter reflected her individual view or a statewide position.

The committee also discussed a signup to brief the Board of Supervisors about the commission’s accomplishments and to request reappointments when appropriate. Members agreed to edit the bylaw language about term limits and the Board of Supervisors’ role and to present a proposed amendment for a formal vote at the next meeting.

Next steps: committee members will submit suggested language and input by the stated internal deadline; a compiled draft letter will be reviewed by the committee attorney before distribution. The committee set its next meeting for Feb. 20.