{"id":11392,"date":"2011-07-30T01:41:47","date_gmt":"2011-07-30T06:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=11392"},"modified":"2011-08-01T04:41:53","modified_gmt":"2011-08-01T09:41:53","slug":"new-muni-court-probation-officer-hits-ground-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2011\/07\/30\/new-muni-court-probation-officer-hits-ground-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Probation officer excited about new job"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
New Van Wert Municipal Court Probation Officer Zach Miller at his desk. (Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Van Wert Municipal Court probation officer Zach Miller may be young, but he\u2019s already got some valuable experience under his belt — and the energy and commitment to put that experience to work.<\/p>\n

Miller, who graduated from Defiance College in May with a bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice, started Monday as the Municipal Court probation officer, replacing Jim Loughrie, who moved to Common Pleas Court.<\/p>\n

During college, Miller worked as an intern for the Van Wert County Youth Bureau for a year and a half and nearly two years with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (OAPA) — both of which gave him experience that will help in his new position.<\/p>\n

It was as a senior at Wayne Trace High School that Miller, who grew up in the Grover Hill and Latty area, first became interested in probation work. \u201cI actually did a job shadow while in high school that got me interested in criminal justice,\u201d he said, noting that his job shadow involved a member of the OAPA.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to help people get back on track, more than you have to arrest people every day,\u201d Miller said of his new position. \u201cIf I have to arrest somebody I will, but getting them on the right track is what intrigued me more about this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller said he became aware of the probation officer\u2019s position when he he moved to Van Wert shortly after marrying a local girl, Chelsea Harshman, in June. Although a little apprehensive about having to interview with Municipal Court Judge Jill Leatherman, he said the experience was a positive one.<\/p>\n

The new probation officer added that he\u2019s very pleased to be working with Judge Leatherman, who he said has similar ideas about what is needed in the probation area. \u201cI\u2019m excited, I really am,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

He explained that he plans to look at each probation case on its own merits, with the goal of helping probationers get through the system successfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re really trying, I\u2019ll work with them,\u201d he said, but added that those who don\u2019t want to cooperate will find their path much tougher. \u201cIf they don\u2019t want to cooperate, well, we\u2019re gonna have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he was only on the job four days when interviewed on Thursday, Miller said he was already working on a number of projects, including implementation of a new electronically monitored house arrest system and seeking a new lab to test for drugs that would include the latest local drug problem: bath salts.<\/p>\n

He added that most of the programs he is implementing in Municipal Court are similar to those he saw while working with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. \u201cIt\u2019s not new stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller said the Municipal Court probation department currently has a caseload of more than 600 cases, which sounds like a lot, but only about 100 of those involve direct supervision.<\/p>\n

Those needing direct supervision, however, will find the new probation officer has some pretty firm ideas on what that entails — including implementing a system of unscheduled visits to their homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy going to their home I can see where they\u2019re coming from,\u201d he said, adding that home visits also lets probationers know he is definitely supervising them — and not just from behind a desk.<\/p>\n

Also for the first time, those needing supervision will be paying at least a small portion of the cost of that supervision, Miller said, noting that a one-time supervision fee of $20 will now be assessed. He and Deputy Clerk Karen Long will also be looking at other ways to make the department financially independent.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the new probation officer said he wants to send a message early on that, while he is willing to work with people, he will do his job as well — no matter what that entails.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of these people, they\u2019re adults; they understand what needs to be done,\u201d Miller said, while admitting, though, that there are \u201call levels of maturity\u201d among those on probation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think it should be a walk in the park, and it will be for those who follow the program,\u201d Miller stressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor New Van Wert Municipal Court probation officer Zach Miller may be young, but he\u2019s already got some valuable experience under his belt — and the energy and commitment to put that experience to work. Miller, who graduated from Defiance College in May with a bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice, started Monday as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-10 02:10:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}