The Catawba County Veterans’ Treatment Court (VTC) had its second graduation ceremony on Friday, August 11, 2023, at the Catawba County Courthouse, recognizing the accomplishments of five more graduates.
The ceremony honoring the achievements of Randall Shane Parris (U.S. Marines), William Eric Dunaway (U.S. Navy), Timothy Joe Rose (U.S. Air Force), John Christopher Baney (U.S. Marines) and Kevin Collinsworth (U.S. Marines) took place in a courtroom with elected officials, community dignitaries, veterans and other participants of the Catawba VTC in attendance.
The first Veterans’ Treatment Court session in Catawba County took place on May 13, 2021, following an April 29 kickoff that same year, and has been offered every other Thursday since that time. A total of eight veterans have completed and graduated from the treatment court.
“The motto of the Veterans’ Treatment Court is ‘Victory Earned Together’ because our goal is that by everyone working together, we can make a difference in a veteran’s life and help them get back on the path to becoming productive members of the community again,” 36th Prosecutorial District Attorney Scott Reilly said. “I am so proud of our veterans and our entire VTC team.”
Catawba – with a population of nearly 10,000 veteran residents – was just the fifth county in the state to have a treatment court for veterans, joining Buncombe, Cumberland, Forsyth and Harnett counties in providing such assistance to veterans who have cases in the court system. Since then, nearby Gaston and Iredell counties also have established treatment courts for their veteran populations.